Roads Untraveled ~ Sam Winchester

Chapter One Hundred and Fifty - Off With His Head

"Hey, mom?" Willow jogged into the War room from the library just as Eden, Sam, Dean, Castiel and Jack were headed out on a case. "Could I... Talk to you for a sec?"
"Of course." Eden nodded, turning to the boys. "I'll be a minute. Go get Baby warmed up."
Dean also nodded, continuing to trudge his way up the grated stairs towards the exit.
"I was actually wondering if we could take some time for just the two of us..." Willow said in a small voice. "The last time we had some girl time, we were still in Banner Elk. Now I'm calling you 'mom' and... I just want some time with you. If that's okay."
Eden gave a small smile, placing her duffel bag on the floor before pulling the young Vampire in for a hug.
"Of course. I'm sure the boys can manage this case without me. Was there anything you wanted to do?" She asked.
"Nothing in particular... I just wanted the time." Willow replied.
"No problem. I'll go let the boys know and then we can figure something out. How does that sound?"
They parted, but Eden held the girl by her shoulders as she nodded.
"Sounds good."

"Can't come. You'll have to do this one without me."
"Why the hell not?" Dean frowned, stood by the driver's door of the Impala, the mid-morning sun through the trees making him squint.
"Because Willow says she wants some one-on-one time with me. I think something's up and I want to figure out what it is. Got a problem with that?" Eden retorted, crossing her arms with an arched brow to match.
"Guess not..." He mumbled. "What if we need you?"
"Then call and I'll zap over. Now, go before you get too tired to drive." The Dark Angel instructed, earning a few choice words under Dean's breath as he got into the car.
Sam walked over, snaking his arm around her middle as he pulled her infor a kiss.
"Told you. Mother material." He smiled against her lips.
"Shut up. Be safe. I love you." Eden smirked, looking up at him through her lashes when he pulled away.
"I love you, too. Have fun."

Half the day was spent teaching Willow how to play the piano. The other half in pajamas watching movies. The next day, Willow had asked Eden to teach her how to talk to snakes - or at least speak the language if not fully communicate. But then, on the fourth day, Willow had asked something rather unexpected; something Eden suspected to be the thing she'd wanted to do all along.
"I'm sorry... You want to what?"
"I want you to teach me how to be a Hunter." The young Vampire repeated.
"Willow... You don't even kill spiders in the bath... Do you really think you could kill a Djinn or a Demon or... You know... Another Vampire?" Eden raised a brow.
"I know I look non-threatening and I know I don't kill a lot if I don't have to. But I think that could be an advantage. You and the boys - Jack excluded - look like you'd kill a bunny if it looked at you wrong. People and monsters know to be scared of you. So, they wouldn't suspect me. Plus, I'm bored of just sitting around the Bunker not really doing anything except playing housemaid. I want to be useful." Willow huffed.
Eden sighed heavily, throwing an empty gaze over the girl's left shoulder.
"I suppose... You might need to learn some tricks in case the Bunker is under attack." Willow perked up, her eyes lighting up with hope. "But that doesn't mean I'm going to let you go on cases with us or anything. Not yet, at least. We can start with the basics - gun training."
The girl nodded eagerly, following her out to the armory.

Everything was going somewhat smoothly until Eden got a call.
She was cleaning her own blood from her left hip when 'Impala 2' called.
"Hey. How's the case?" She answered, wincing as Willow placed a cold compress on her skin.
'I'm so sorry...' The girl mouthed, earning a dismissive shake of the head in response.
"Are you okay? You sound... In pain." Sam frowned. "If this is a bad time-"
"No, no. Nothing I can't handle. What do you need?" Eden cut him off.
"So, we think we're dealing with a Gorgon. All the signs are there, even down to the snakes. Rowena and I were wondering if-"
"Rowena's there?" Eden cocked a brow. "What? Was the team missing a sassy British red head that badly?"
"No." Sam gave a breathy laugh. "We just needed her for a tracking spell. But, she's helping out anyway."
"So you need me to maybe control this Gorgon with my snake charmer charm so you can kill it." Eden concluded, wincing again when Willow took the compress from her wound, replacing it with taped gauze.
"Yeah, basically. It's more of a 'just in case' situation, but it'd be a great help."
"No problem. Let me just change and I'll be right there." Eden nodded, getting up from her perch against the shooting range table as she hung up. "Right. I need you to stay here. No more shooting, I don't need to come back here and find you bleeding on the floor too. I'll be back in a bit."
"But, mom, you're wounded... And not healing." Willow narrowed her eyes.
"That's what happens when I get shot with an Angel-killing bullet. I'll be fine soon enough. Let's just hope I've got enough juice to go and help the boys and Rowena." Eden replied, walking off towards the bedrooms.