Safe Chapter 8

After spending a few days of not going anywhere and staying in the Winchester's bunker, LJ began to grow restless. She usually would walk around the place or read books, but soon grew bored of that.

"LJ, have you eaten anything since... you've been here?" Sam questioned the restless girl. She shrugged and avoided eye contact.

"I've had a few bites of food. I don't eat a lot." She hoped he couldn't tell that she was lying and just wanted him to go away. Sam placed his hand on her shoulder and tried to look into her eyes.

"Listen, if you ever want someone to talk to, I will always listen." She flashed a smile in his direction before ducking under his arms. Dean walked through the door with an armload of groceries.

"Hey, anymore in the car?" She asked hopefully, heading toward the door.

"Nope, got them all." He walked right past her and set the groceries on the counter. LJ sighed as she went inside.

"Why so down?" Dean asked, beginning to put the food away. LJ looked up at him.

"I'm not. I just don't feel... useful." She shrugged as she grabbed a bag and began to put away its contents. Sam pulls Dean into the library.

"Dude, what's wrong with her?" Dean asks, referring to the female Hunter.

"I think she misses her old life. Her freedom." Looking up, LJ realizes the boys have left, so she finishes putting the groceries away herself. When finished, Sam walks in.

"Hey Sam, would it be alright if I used your laptop to check my email?" Sam looks back at Dean then nods.

"Of course." LJ heads off and grabs Sam's computer. She logs onto her email that has over a hundred unread emails asking about her. When she spots one from Lizzie from right after she was taken, LJ closes the laptop without logging out.

"I'm going to get some fresh air. I promise you both I won't run off." She heads outside when Sam is at her side.

"Can I accompany you?" He asks, wanting to make sure she stays safe. She nods her head and they talk a walk down the road.

"What's on your mind?" Sam asks, concerned when she doesn't speak. She shrugs her shoulders.

"I dunno, just old memories." She sends a smile up at the Hunter who she can tell is worried about her.

"Sam, how did you and Dean get sucked into this life?" She stopped walking and stared up at the Hunter. This question caught him off guard making him stutter.

"I-I was raised into it. Our d-dad was a Hunter." He didn't want to reveal everything to her seeing as she had enough to think about.

"How about you?" They began walking again and LJ sighed deeply.

"Long story short, when I was 12 my dad was killed by a vampire. I walked in on him getting his throat ripped out. I ran from the room only to run into this guy. He was about 6'2" with dark brown hair. Really gruff. Dean reminds me of him, actually." She sighed back on the thought.

"He grabbed me and pushed me outside and told me to hide. After what seemed like a lifetime, he explained to me what had happened." Her voice caught in her throat.

"Did he tell you his name?" Sam asked gently. She nodded.

"He said it was John. He took me to this guy's house. I was taught the basics of hunting but when I was 17, the man who was teaching me disappeared. I saw John a couple years after that while we were both hunting a demon. I explained to him what happened and he said he wanted me to meet his sons. But we ended up butting heads after killing the demon and I ran off without him. A few weeks after that, I got caught by this demon names Azazel. Garth saved my life." They began to head back toward the bunker when Sam stopped her.

"Did this John guy have a scruffy beard and brown eyes? And he wore this brown suede jacket?" Sam's voice began to get excited. LJ thought back and nodded.

"How did you-" Then she realized it.

"You and Dean are his sons! How did I never get that before!?" Sam was about to say something when Dean's voice could be heard. Both Hunters took off running back to the bunker and found Dean standing there out of breath.

"What happened?" Sam asked.

"Garth is on his way. He is already in the general vicinity. I couldn't see you guys so I began to worry."

"Dean, you will never believe this." Sam began to explain about what LJ told him when Dean cut him off.

"We need to go get Garth and make sure he doesn't give away our Batcave." Dean hopped into the Impala and motioned for the others to follow. LJ shrugged and jumped in, happy to be getting out. They began to drive, excitement was jumping around in LJ's mind. This is the first time she has been out of containment in almost a whole week.

Garth called Dean saying he has tracked his and Sam's GPS in their phone's but it cuts out before getting there exact location. He tells Dean that he is in the general vicinity of the place and needs to talk to them, but he wants to see with his own eyes that his Hunter friend was alright. Dean still didn't know how Garth knew LJ, but he figured he would find out soon enough. While driving, Sam explained to Dean that LJ knew their father. The news of course shocked Dean.

"Why didn't you tell us before?" He demanded. LJ cowered down in the backseat, something she never would have done before. Sam calmly explained to Dean that LJ hadn't realized it until she told Sam about her childhood. Dean was shocked, but he decided to forget about it. He parked in front of Lammey's Cafe and all three Hunters got out. LJ lifted her head up as a breeze blew by ruffling her hair. Sam tapped her shoulder making her jump. She usually was never in the open, but at this moment in time, she never wanted to hide again. They walked into the restaurant and Dean spotted Garth immediately. Before letting LJ go anywhere near him, Dean forced Garth to take a shot of Holy Water and touch silver. It definitely was Garth. He jumped up and gave LJ a long, hard hug which she happily returned.

"I am so happy you are safe! Why haven't you answered any of my calls?" Everyone sat down and ordered something to eat.

"Well, my phone broke."

"You haven't gotten a new one in almost three years? If Mr. Fizzles was here, he'd call you a liiiiaaaarrrr!" LJ rolled her eyes as she drank her water. Sam and Dean were amused at how at ease the two were with one another.

"Listen, I kept you away so I knew you were safe. Last time we tried to meet up, you had your ass handed to you by demons and I was abducted." Their food arrived just then, and Sam was anxiously awaiting to see whether LJ ate it or not. He had not seen her touch food unless she was making it. Before she took a bite, she excused herself to the ladies room.

"Garth, how much do you actually know about this girl?" Dean asked the minute she was out of earshot. Garth had a huge bite of burger in his mouth, so he hurried to finish that before he could answer Dean's sort of expected answer.

"I've known her since she was at least 22. Which reminds me, do you guys celebrate birthdays?" The Winchesters look at one another.

"Um, yeah. Why?" Sam asked as he took a bite of salad.

"Well, LJ's is coming up next week and I was hoping you guys could maybe hold onto something and give it to her then?" His face was so innocent and boyish, they couldn't refuse. Sam began to worry when LJ hadn't shown up yet.

"Sammy, relax. Here she comes now." Dean took another big bite from his bacon cheeseburger as LJ sat back at the table. She seemed out of breath and her hair was up. A sign that Garth took as bad.

"What happened?" He asked. She looked up at him, shock in her eyes.

"Nothing, why?" She took a long gulp of water.

"Your hair is up. A sign that means you're either worried about something, or something is wrong." Dean cocked his head, surprised that Garth knew so much about this girl. She laughed it off and shoved almost half of her burger in her mouth.

"And, you hardly ever eat something like that unless you're trying to avoid something." As she chewed she shrugged, casually looking over her shoulder. When a man came walking past the table, she put her hand to her face as if she was trying to avoid him. It did not work.

"Jasmine? Is that you?" The man stopped at the table. She looked up with the fakest smile Sam has ever seen.

"Hey Jerry." Her face had guilt written all over it. The man, Jerry, sat next to her, making her move closer to Sam who was right beside her. Garth gave her a quizzical look as she shook her head as if telling him "You don't wanna know."

"How have you been! I haven't seen you since you moved from California!" He wrapped his arm around her, making her sigh.

"Listen, I'm sort of in the middle of something right now." She motioned to the guys who were sitting at the table with her.

"Oh, did I walk in on another lawyer thing?" He showed his teeth, a sign saying he was sorry. LJ, well in this case Jasmine, nodded her head.

"Well here's my number. Call me and we can catch up!" He squeezed her shoulder and kissed her cheek before handing her a piece of paper with his number on it.

"See you." She said and turned her back on him. When he was gone, Sam, Dean, and Garth were staring at her.

"Who the hell was that?" Dean asked, disbelief written all over his face. LJ sighed deeply and ran her hands down her face.

"A guy I went on a pity date with in college. He is so creepy, I wish I could gank his pathetic ass." Her voice had gone from cheery and happy to downright miserable and guilty.

"Where did you go to college?" Sam asked.

"Stanford, just like you." Garth answered for her. "Same years too, I believe."

"What 'lawyer thing' was that creep talking about?" Dean asked, leaning into her.

"He would always want to be with me, so I made an excuse that I-"

"Jasmine? Out of all the names in the world you picked... Jasmine?" Garth interrupted. This got LJ to chuckle.

"Hey, Jasmine was only my name on weeknights when I... worked." Dean noticed her blushing.

"Worked as what?" His curiosity was getting the better of him.

"LJ was a stripper!" Garth announced, making Sam choke on his salad. Her cheeks flushed as she looked down guiltily.

"I needed money for college." Her voice was small and tiny. Dean had a smile on his face.

"Well all-be-damned." He sat back staring at her. She pulled her hair down so she could hide behind it.

"Can we umm... get out of here. He keeps looking over here and I have a feeling he may start stalking me again." The boys finished their food and Garth insisted on paying the whole tab.

"Hey, being a stripper is nothing to be ashamed of!" Dean clapped LJ on her back as they walked out. They began walking down the street when she looked into the window of the diner. Jerry was staring at them with black eyes.