Pieces Of Me {Sam Winchester}

The Darnedest Thing

Josie hadn't felt better working a case in a long, long time.

They'd stopped at an overnight motel in Indiana after about five hours of driving and spent the night. In the morning, they grabbed breakfast at a gas station. ("They've got the five main food groups," Dean had said. "Chips, candy, soft drinks, alcohol, and pie." They didn't actually find a pie at the gas station they stopped at, but there were jumbo Reese's cups that they figured were close enough.) Then they continued the drive to Nazareth, Pennsylvania.

Seven hours later, and Josie was about to start working a case while wearing a tan sweater, lavender Converse, and ripped black jeans. She sent a silent prayer that Sam and Dean worked every case from now on for a friend, since that apparently meant they got to ditch the fed suits.

Sam, Dean, and Josie headed into the airport where the plane that had crashed was from--Nazareth Airport. Dean led the trio, and Josie and Sam walked side-by-side behind him.

"Dean!" a man called out as they walked in. A short, balding guy wearing a blue shirt and slacks approached them.

"Jerry!" Dean exclaimed. They grabbed hands then pulled each other into a guy-hug, slapping each others' backs.

"Jerry," Dean said, taking a step back, "you remember Sam."

Sam waved.

"And this is our friend Josie," Dean added.

"Hi," Josie said.

"Pleasure," Jerry said, shaking Josie's hand. He shook Sam's, then sucked in a breath and addressed the trio.

"I'm glad you're here," he said. "It's just...it's impossible to explain."

"Well, you know impossible is what we do," Sam joked.

Jerry didn't smile.

"It's just so strange," he continued. "Chuck--he was the pilot--he's been flying planes for over twenty years. He's one of the best pilots I know. There was no good reason as to why it crashed. And, even weirder--I was checking out the wreckage a couple days ago, and I found a recording on the cockpit voice recorder."

"What did it say?" Josie asked.

"It sounded like EVP," Jerry said. "It sounded like it was saying, 'no survivors.' But the darned thing is, there were seven survivors of the crash."

Sam and Josie exchanged a glance.

"Do you think we could talk to the pilot?" Dean asked.

"Maybe," Jerry replied. "But I'd try Max Jaffrey first. He was a survivor. He checked himself into the local rehabilitation center."

Dean nodded. "Thanks a lot, Jerry. We'll check him out."

The trio turned and headed out of the airport.

"Does this mean we have to wear the fed suits again?" Josie asked once they were outside.

"If we want to actually figure this out, then yes," Dean answered.

Josie sighed. "So much for working comfortably," she muttered glumly.

•••

After changing back into her blazer and too-big slacks, and the boys into their suit and ties, Josie, Sam, and Dean walked into Nazareth Trauma Rehabilitation Center.

Josie walked behind them now. She wasn't the leader of this case. Sam and Dean could handle that.

Dean approached the front desk.

"Excuse me," he said, producing a forged FBI badge. "Agent Stone, FBI. My partners, Agent Lyons and Agent Solis." Sam and Josie nodded, respectively.

"We'd like to talk to one of your patients regarding a recent accident," Dean explained to the receptionist. "Max Jaffrey."

"Mm, yeah," the receptionist replied. "That should be no problem for ya. Max's in the yard, and he's willing to tell anyone who'll listen his ridiculous stories. He'll talk, for sure, but what he went through messed him up quite a bit. I fear he's a little, uh, loony."

Dean nodded understandingly. "We'll keep that in mind."

The receptionist nodded, then pointed the trio in the direction of the exit.

Dean forged ahead, but Sam and Josie trailed behind a little.

"Josie," Sam murmured. "Good old fashioned interrogation on this guy, okay?"

Josie furrowed her brow.

"Duh," she snapped. "What's that supposed to mean, anyway?"

"Just making sure we were clear." He gave her a serious look.

Josie just rolled her eyes and hurried to catch up with Dean. Sam sighed and followed them.

They got into the sunny yard, and Dean began asking around.

"Excuse me," he said to anyone who passed through. "Do you know a Max Jaffrey?"

He must've asked ten people before a rather pathetic-looking man in sweats replied, "Yeah. He's me."

"Hi," Josie responded, quickly taking over the situation and shooting a scowl toward Sam. "Agent Solis, FBI. We were wondering if we could talk to you about the plane crash you were involved in recently?"

Max whooped with joy.

"Of course!" he cheered. "Please, please talk to me about the crash! Finally, people who will listen to me!"

Sam raised an eyebrow.

"Mr. Jaffrey, what exactly strange did you see?" he asked.

Max grinned like a child who was receiving candy.

"The darnedest thing," he replied.

"Can you elaborate on that?" Josie sighed.

"A guy," Max continued. "Dunno his name. Business type. He opened the emergency exit. That's why the plane went down."

Josie shook her head. "It was a plane, Mr. Jaffrey. There would several tons of force pushing against the exit. It'd be virtually impossible to open while in flight."

Max's face fell.

"You don't believe me?" he asked.

Sam quickly cut in and shook his head. "No, no, it's not that we don't believe you." He swallowed, then glanced at Dean and Josie, who shrugged. "We...we just need to investigate a little more. Was there anything else weird you recall?"

"Oh, right," Max added. "Right before he ripped open the exit, he looked straight at me. And, okay, maybe I was just seeing things, but I swear his eyes flashed black."

Josie sucked in a breath.

"Jose?" he asked, nudging her.

"Thanks for your time," Josie quickly replied, addressing Max. "You helped a lot."

Max nodded gravely.

"I'm glad I did," he said. "Find out why he did it, okay? My girlfriend was on that plane with me. I want to know why he had to get her killed."

Josie nodded.

"We will," she promised. "And we'll make sure it doesn't happen to anyone else, either."

Then she spun on her heel and walked out of the yard, then the building, without acknowledging the receptionist, at top speed.

"Josie," Sam gasped once they were outside. For once, he'd barely been able to keep up. "What was that?"

"Yeah," Dean agreed, "we barely said two words to the guy."

"Didn't need anything else," Josie responded. "I know what we're dealing with." She bit her lip. "And you're not going to like it."

Sam and Dean exchanged a look.

Josie swallowed.

"We're dealing with a demon," she told them.