Roads Untraveled ~ Sam Winchester

Chapter Fifty - Retreat

Elizabeth looked herself over in the mirror, sighing contently. They didn't have a case, all they were doing was going over the lore on the Mark of Cain.
After grabbing a glass of blood, she went out to the library.
"Jody said she was on top of it, Dean." Sam said.
"Jody says she was on top of what?" Elizabeth asked, going over to give him a 'good morning' peck on the lips.
"Jody think she might've found a case. She's on this Sheriff's retreat thing. She says she can handle it but I wanna go check it out just in case." Dean explained.
Elizabeth lent against Sam's chair, playing with the hair on the back of his head nonchalantly as she nodded, staring off into space.
"Well, I'm up for whatever but I'd probably need to change... I kinda dressed for reading, not going out and stabbing things." She frowned, looking down at herself.
"Nice shirt." Sam smirked, gazing over her form in his green and white plaid flannel shirt that she wore over a black tank top and a pair of shorts.
"Isn't it just." She mimicked his expression, sipping her blood.
"You two have been all loved up ever since you had that serious talk last week. It's gross." Dean scrunched up his nose. "What did you even talk about, anyways?"
"Just stuff." Elizabeth shrugged, winding a section of Sam's hair round her index finger before brushing it out again.
"Well, whatever 'stuff' was, you can hit pause on it for a few days because we're going to Hibbing." The older brother huffed, closing up the book in front of him.
"Where?" The Vampire frowned.
"Hibbing. Minnesota. Go time." Dean said, moving to grab his overnight bag.

After changing the shorts for skinny jeans, tying the ends of Sam's shirt round her middle and putting on her combat boots and usual 'sexy panda' make-up, as Dean called it, she decided that it would be enough and got in the car.
They didn't get to the cabin lodge where the Sheriff's retreat was being held until the next morning, by which time, Elizabeth was driving so the boys could sleep.
On the way, they'd stopped at the morgue to check out the victims. Turned out, there'd been a second one.
Both partially eaten, but 'partially' meant straight down to the bone with no claw marks or anything to suggest an animal attack.
"One Sheriff, I can handle. A whole retreat's worth? Eesh." Elizabeth shuddered as she got out of the car outside the retreat cabin.
"Is that why you didn't wear the monkey suit? You wanted to make some sorta statement or something?" Dean asked, buttoning up his suit jacket.
"That and I look damn good in this outfit." She smirked. "Maybe I should wear colour more often. What do you think, Sam?" She placed a hand on her hip, tipping her head back slightly like she was on some sort of runway.
Sam chuckled, shaking his head.
"You gave me a thing for goth girls, apparently. But the shirt on you works." He shrugged.
"You wanna be careful with those goth girls, Sammy. Those chicks bite worse than the monsters." Dean smirked as he walked passed Elizabeth, who leaned in and bit the air in front of him, giggling as he flinched.

They walked into the cabin lodge like they owned the place, the boys instantly earning tips of uniform hats left, right and centre as they walked through the building in search of Jody.
"This many Sheriffs is putting me on edge." Elizabeth mumbled.
"You're supposed to be FBI. You're their boss. Act like it." Dean smirked, nodding to a Sheriff who walked by.
"I can't help it. They're bad omens." The Vampire shrugged.
"How can they be bad omens if they appear after the bad thing happened?" Sam frowned.
"Because they appear at all." She grumbled, earning a look from both boys. "Don't you two go judging my logic, it justifies my uncomfyness."
"'Uncomfyness?'" Sam repeated, an amused smile peeking through a confused frown.
"I said I could handle it!" Jody hissed as she walked up to them, giving Dean a hug.
"Nice to see you too." He smiled.
"Hey." Sam nodded, hugging her.
"Jody Mills. The only cop here I enjoy the sight of right now." Elizabeth grinned, hugging the Sheriff tight.
"What's up with her?" Jody asked mid-hug.
"She doesn't like the amount of Sheriffs in here." Dean replied.
Jody gave an understanding nod as the two women parted.
"I was just headed to the morgue, you want in?" The Sheriff offered.
"Uh, we just came from there." Sam informed her.
"And?" 
"And flesh was eaten off the second vic too." The Winchester continued.
"Yeah, it was like someone had accidentally pressed the 'off' switch on a 3D printer, realised what they did and then carried on like the middle didn't matter anymore." Elizabeth said.
The brothers and the Sheriff frowned in her direction.
"That... Is a scarily accurate description." Jody narrowed her eyes in slightly disgusted curiosity. After a moment or two, she shook it off and carried on, folding her arms over her chest. "Anything missing?"
"Yeah, his wallet." Dean replied. "Why?"
"Because I think a belt was missing off the first kid." The Sheriff answered.
"Ooh, so we're looking for a magpie that eats Human flesh but only in really particular and thorough sections." Elizabeth nodded.
"Monsters eating and robbing people." Sam shrugged.
"Jodio, you take sugar?" A woman asked from further in the building, grabbing the attention of the Sheriff and the brothers.
"No. No sugar." Jody's voice seemed wavy and off-balance all of a sudden.
"Sounds like this retreat's about as much fun for you as it is for me." Elizabeth cocked an eyebrow.
"'Jodio?'" Dean looked amused.
"It's a... Don't ask..." Jody shook her head.
"Wait a second..." Sam perked up when he saw the owner of the voice. "Isn't that...Uh... Donna?"
"Fat spa Donna." Dean smirked.
"Right!" Sam nodded.
"Who the heck is Donna?" Elizabeth frowned.
"While you were in Heaven, we had this case. Donna was the Sheriff on that case but she was also spending a weekend at the spa we were investigating." Sam explained.
"Yeah, Sam had to teach a yoga class, you woulda loved it." Dean smirked.
Elizabeth scrunched up her nose in confusion.
"Wha-" She cut herself off.
"Wait, you guys know my stalker?" Jody's brows raised in surprise.
"She nearly blew that case for us." Dean replied.
"Yeah, I haven't been able to shake that ray of sunshine since I got here." The Sheriff mumbled. "She's actually been pretty helpful, but it's been tough trying to keep her outta this nightmare stuff, you know?"
"Right. Hey, do you mind distracting her while we poke around?" Sam asked.
"You show up and now I'm a babysitter?"Jody crossed her arms again looking a whole lot less than impressed.
"Look, she hasn't gotten mixed up with this crap yet, let's just try to keep it that way." Dean sighed.
"Yeah, Elizabeth'll stay with you." Sam offered.
Elizabeth snapped out of her mental image of Sam doing yoga.
"Elizabeth will do what, now?" She cocked a brow. "You wanna put me – the happiest-go-luckiest bitch on the planet who is already in a situation she doesn't like on babysitting duty for a woman you absolutely know is gunna get on my last remaining nerve cell?"
"You'll be fine." Sam chuckled, walking over to her to place a kiss on her forehead. "I'll make it up to you."
"Ooh, promises, promises." Elizabeth smirked, earning a look from Jody.
"Agent Frehley?! Agent Criss?!" Donna walked over with the brightest grin on her face as she shook their hands.
"Hey. Sheriff Hanscum. I thought that was you." Sam greeted.
"Well, ain't this a kick in the pants! What dragged ya in?" She asked in her thick local accent.
"Uh, well, we can't talk about it." Dean smirked, leaning in like the whole thing was a secret.
"Oh, yeah. I hear ya." Donna continued to smile, making eye contact with Elizabeth.
"Oh! Yeah, Sheriff Hanscum, this is Agent Sixx." Sam introduced.
Elizabeth moved forward with a very forced smile as Donna shook her hand vigorously.
"Great to meet ya!" The Sheriff grinned.
"Yeah, you too. Sorry for the lack of dress code, I was dragged here last minute and couldn't be bothered to change." That forced smile stuck to the Vampire like gorilla glue.
"Oh, she's British! Oh, I love England, I've always wanted to visit. Did you grow up in London?" Donna asked.
"Um, no. Actually, believe it or not, there's a whole country surrounding London and three more within spitting distance." Elizabeth's forced smile faltered for a second, almost passing as a grimace before it returned.
"Oh wow! Oh, you'll have to tell me all about that sometime, won't ya?" Donna still grinned.
"Absolutely." Elizabeth replied, glancing to Sam who gave her a look. "I've got time right now if this retreat isn't keeping you too busy."
"Oh, you betcha!" Donna exclaimed. "It was good to see you boys again!" She called back, ushering the Vampire over towards the coffee table, offering her a cup.
Elizabeth glared to Sam, mouthing 'you owe me big.'
He mouthed back his apologies as he and Dean walked off towards the exit.