How to Save a Soul - ABANDONED

Amalia, too, could feel the adrenaline flowing through her veins. She was in a hurry to salt and burn these bodies as fast as she could, and so far, things were doing okay. "I'm doing all right! Don't worry, Dean. Just focus on helping Kerica and Sam pull the bodies out! I'm going as fast as I can." She reassured, grabbing the two bodies that were just pulled out from Sam and repeated the salting and burning. She gave the older Winchester a sweet smile before focusing on the task at hand.

Sam, meanwhile, was dragging out yet another body with Kerica rising from the swampy waters. He felt rushed, his breathing heavy and quick. The clock was ticking, and it was only a matter of time before Enya showed up again. Several bodies later, they finally dragged out the last one, Amalia salted and burned the corpse, a sigh of relief leaving her.

"That should do it!" She grinned, then a sense of panic rose within her as Enya appeared before them. "Look out!!"

The angered spirit had sent Sam flying into the marsh, a loud splash ringing in everyone's ears.

Kerica was coming up for air when Sam fell in, sending her under as well, but thankfully she had taken a breath. Lungs burning, head dizzy from holding her breath too much without more oxygen, she took a moment to see what was going on. Sam was struggling, leg caught by Enya. Kerica hadn't been grabbed because of the iron chain around her ankle, and iron dagger strung around her waist. The act of swimming kept her away. Going down she took the dagger out of its holster and swiped at Enya, then cut at the swamp plants twisted around his leg.

Once free, she held her hand out and when he took it, she pulled him close, gripping his chin and sealing her lips over his. It wasnt so much a kiss as she breathed air into his mouth, and it was also clumsy because of the goggles. Disappointing, but she pulled away and pointed at the skeleton wrapped in three years worth of marshland. She couldn't get it on her own.

Up above, Dean was back to back with Amalia as they faught off the ghost of the marsh, a iron pipe in his hands and her giving him signals.

Sam was struggling through the plants in the water, trying his very best to get free. However, with every movement he made, the tighter the plants clung to his leg. It was making it very difficult for him to move, and he was already running out of oxygen. It was then that he felt Kerica's hand hold his, and her lips pressed against his own. He felt air rush into his lungs again, and he returned the kiss briefly before she pulled away. Turning to face the skeleton that was covered in algae, he helped Kerica carefully pull the corpse away from the plants and they both reached the surface above water. A gasp for air left them as they climbed up out of the water and on land, seeing Amalia and Dean fight off Enya's spirit.

The red head had noticed that Sam and Kerica finally reached the shore and a wave of relief washed over her. "Thank god! Are you both okay?!" She cried, then turned her head to see Enya's deadly gaze right in front of her. Just as the spirit raised a hand to send them flying, Sam had quickly grabbed the gasoline, salt and lighter, bursting the bones into flames once he poured the gasoline and salt onto the corpse. Enya soon let out an ear piercing scream, causing Amalia to cover her ears before the spirit exploding into small particles of light, soon vanishing in thin air.

Now that she could breathe, Kerica fell to her knees and coughed, "Fuck! Oh Kami, that was intense. My head is spinning."

"What the hell does Kami mean?" Dean asked, breathing heavy and threw the pipe over his shoulder.

"Its Japanese for God...I had a...facination for the culture growing up, so you'll probably hear me spout a few words here and there," Kerica explained, taking one last deep breath and letting it slowly out and then stood.

"Whats takin' so long to recover, short stack?" Dean arched a brow.

"Asthma...I don't have an inhaler and I have never had an attack in all my hunting years. It only starts acting up if I..." She motioned to the water, "Hold my breath too long, or run too much. I start getting dizzy."

"I wil keep that in mind," Dean snorted, "Thanks for letting us know, not."

"Dude, I don't think its a problem, so it's fine," Kerica held her arms out then slapped them back onto her legs, "Amalia, you should gather the ashes of Enya and give them to Tracy for a proper burial. I need a shower and so does Mr. Giant now, so I will take my car and go back to the hotel. Sam, I have towels in my trunk you can sit on."

Amalia quickly swatted Dean's arm, firm yet gentle, with a small glare aimed at him. "Don't be rude, Dean." She scolded, walking over to Kerica to help her up. With a nod, she quickly gathered the ashes of Enya's corpse, while Sam smirked at the nickname the brunette gave him. She had called him that a few times before, and he still found it rather amusing.

"I'll go check to see if we have a jar to put those ashes in." He said to the red head before rushing over to Kerica's Mustang. With Kerica not far behind, he glanced at her from the corner of his eye. "So, if you don't mind me asking, what medications do you take for your asthma if you don't use an inhaler?"

Amalia watched from the corner of her eye with a smile, going back to moving the ashes into a neat pile, so that way it wasn't scattered all over the place. With a soft breath, she looked up at the clear blue sky above her, clutching at her amulet tightly with her right hand before looking down at the ashes before her.

"Oh, my dad perscribes me singular. If I run out, then he sends it to the nearest pharmacy for me to pick up. I take it in the morning when I wake up," Kerica smiled at him, tossing him a glass bottle from her trunk where she also got towels, "I am going to get out of this thing while you take that to them, then we will leave."

"Do you got any crippling illnesses or issues I should know about?" Dean arched a brow at Amalia, "Depression? Social anxiety? Anxiety in general? Weak ankles?" He smirked a little.

Sam nodded with a smile in return, catching the glass bottle in his hands swiftly. "Sure thing." He said before walking over to Dean and Amalia. He was definitely going to shower once Kerica took him back to the hotel. He scrunched up his nose at the smell that coated his clothes, nearly gagging before he stopped behind the two, smirking at their conversation.

Amalia, who was unaware of Sam's presence, laughed softly at Dean's reference with a wide grin, shaking her head slowly. "Weak ankles, no. Depression, maybe a little." She giggled, being honest to some extent. She wasn't ready to tell Dean about her depression and the incident with her father, and she hoped that he wouldn't find out unless she told him herself.

"If you have anything you need to tell me, please feel free to do so," Dean looked behind him when he smelled Sam. Demon senses or not, he was pretty raunchy, "We've had plenty of...incidents in the past where not telling each other important shit has gotten us hurt, so I am just letting you know now that way I can say "I told you" so later," he pressed his lips together and nodded. He then held his hands out to catch the glass jar, "Go on, we'll catch up."

Sam blinked a few times before gently tossing Dean the jar, watching him catch it in his hands. "I'll see you two back in town." He said, walking back to Kerica's car while taking a quick glance at the redhead and his older brother.

Amalia swallowed hard at Dean's words, turning to him as she parted her lips, about to speak but she pressed them together in a hard line, looking down at the pile of ashes before her. She knew that he deserved to know, so she gathered enough courage to let out a deep breath, before looking at him straight in the eyes. "I told you that my father died... But never about /how/ he died," she began, biting her lip with a sign of hesitation in her eyes. "He was killed...by a demon."

She let out a shaky sigh, feeling her emotions build up inside her. "He and I were on a hunt, when I was 17. We had received word from a fellow hunter that a demon was killing innocent people, and we tracked it down deep in the forest outside of town. After several minutes, we found the bastard... And it was possessing a human body. A man, around his late 40's, with pitch black eyes, and we knew that the demon was inside. My father tried to draw the thing out using holy water and excorsizing it... But it fought back hard."

Amalia was clutching at the grass now, trying to keep herself in check as she told her story to Dean. "I remember... I remember the look that the demon gave me once my father was knocked down,. It looked at me as if I had become its prey. I was frozen in place, and I couldn't move. My father... He protected me by stepping out in front of me, the demon diving its hand into his chest... There was blood everywhere..." Her voice began to tremble, and her eyes stung. "Luckily, he chanted the last few words and he drew the demon out... But the man it was possesing was not so lucky... Neither was my father."

She hung her head low, hair hiding her face as her shoulders shook. "I...couldn't save him... I held him in my arms, Dean. I saw him smile at me as the light faded in his eyes. I felt his entire body grow cold... I could do nothing but watch him die...!" She felt the tears roll down her face like a waterfall, sniffling as she clutched at her amulet that hung around her neck. "I blame myself for his death every single day. That's how I developed this sense of loathing towards myself." She bit her lip as she wiped her face with her hand, looking at the older Winchester with puffy and watery eyes. "That's why I was so determined to come with you, Sam and Kerica. I know I can't save everyone... But I refuse to let anyone else go through what I went through..."

"We've watched a lot of people we love die, too..." Dean said quietly, his expression softening into understanding and he huffed, stuffing his hands into his jacket pockets, "Ellen and Jo...years ago, we were running from Hell Hounds, when Jo got torn up trying to protect me, and I carried her into a mechanic shop where we hunkered down. We had a crush on each other but never did anything with it. I said it was because I was afraid of her mom, and in a way I was, but I was also afraid of losing her."

He looked around and shifted, never liking when he shared feelings and preferred the past stayed buried, "In the end we couldn't wait any longer and set up bombs with propane tanks and Jo offered herself as bait to push the button. Ellen stayed behind with her." Dean looked at her from looking at the ground, "Before that, even, we got our asses kicked by a demon with our own dad. We drove and ended up being hit by a semi-truck. You can imagine that it turned the impala into a pancake," he looked at his baby in the distance, "I woke up...mostly dead. I was a spirit watching my body on the hospital bed. You can imagine how freaky that was." He shuddered, "I fought the Reaper after my ass tooth and nail and then before she took me at the end of the day, I was zapped back to my body. My dad had made a deal with the same demon who put us there. Sam...was the one in this scenario who found him dead in his room."

Dean held up his finger, "Not to mention we saw our half brother die twice, the first time he had been eaten by a ghoul and then the ghoul turned into him, and next he became the vessel for Archangel Michael in my stead and fell into the Pit of Hell into Lucifer's cage, Lucifer was in Sam at the time." Taking a deep breath he thought about the most recent death, "Bobby...was like a second father to us. During the whole Leviathan bullshit, he got shot in the head and fought so hard to get us his last message which were a bunch of numbers I spent weeks trying to figure out. Then his last word to us was his nickname of 'idjits'."

He turned completely around and rubbed both hands over his face, before facing her yet again, "I'm not trying to one-up you, Amalia. That's not my intention. I'm telling you Sam and I /get it/. We more than anyone I'm sure, understands and empathize with you. Don't think you're alone in this, and if you have nightmares 'cause God knows we have them, you can call me...us." Damn it, of course he slipped just then.

Amalia listened to his words as she watched the expressions on his face, while wiping away her tears. Just hearing what he and Sam had to go through my her heart ache, and it was then that she realized she wasn't alone. Sure, they may have lost more people, and they had been through much worse, but she finally felt a huge weight being lifted off her shoulders. The last sentence in which he said that she could rely on him, a smile creased her lips. With a hand touching his face, she leaned in on her tip toes and pressed her lips against his, the kiss sweet and tender. The redhead let it linger for a moment before pulling away slowly, her gaze meeting his own. "Thank you, Dean... You have no idea on how much that means to me." She said, removing her hand from his cheek and looked down nervously. Biting her lip as her face grew bright red, she turned to the pile of ashes before her as she cleared her throat.

"Anyway... No more sad stuff, huh? Let's get these ashes in the jar before the wind starts picking up." She said, trying to hide her embarrassment.

He'd been kissed by...a /lot/ of girls, in several ways, but that had been different. Mainly in the fact it made his chest ache and he licked his lips, watching her turn and bend down to pick up the ashes. He'd acted faster before, gone to bed with a chick within an hour after meeting her, but why had he frozen? Because he was working with her, and everyone else didn't mean anything? Of course, Lisa had been different, but even she had been against his way of life. Not that he could blame her...hell he even had Cas erase her memories of him. Amalia knew everything, what it was like and was still here, trying to make her own adventure and her own mistakes.

Dean took a deep breath, stomach still flip-flopping and he turned around, reaching down to grab the salt and the gasoline cans, "I'll get the car revved up." He said simply, and walked off.

()

The group had left town soon after handing Enya's ashes to Tracy, who had given her a proper funeral. Seeing the look of relief on the younger woman's face made Amalia feel like she had made a difference, and it was a wonderful feeling. After a short goodbye and receiving a thank you from her, the redhead left with Dean, Sam and Kerica, in hopes of finding another job to work on. Days passed, and so far, no word had spread of anything out of the ordinary. It was early afternoon when the group stopped by a diner for food, and Sam was looking through his laptop to find any unusual cases.

"Nothing... Absolutely nothing." He sighed in frustration, closing his computer while running a hand through his hair.

"Still no case?" Amalia chimed in, looking up at the younger Winchester while taking a small bite of her grilled cheese sandwich.

"Nope." He said simply, looking towards Dean who had been awfully quiet. As he parted his lips to ask what was wrong, Amalia's cell phone rang which made her jump in surprise. Taking the device out of her pocket, she hit the accept call button and pressed the phone to her ear.

"Hello?" She spoke, a look of confusion on her face before it faded into a bright smile as she heard the person on the other end. "Aunt Ramona!? Hey, long time no hear! How are you?"

Sam turned to Amalia as she made small talk, glancing at Kerica who merely shrugged her shoulders.

"So, what's the occasion? I haven't heard from you since Dad died." The red head asked, her face turning serious soon after. "So, Mama told you, huh?" She smiled slightly, looking down at her meal. "Wait... Is everything okay?" She said after a moment of silence.

This made the three of them turn to her, while Amalia grabbed a small notepad and pen, writing down an address before putting the pen away. "Sure, we can stop by. We're halfway there anyways... Haha, yeah, I can't wait to see you too. Bye." She soon hung up the phone and let out a heavy sigh, rubbing her forehead.

"What was that about?" Sam asked, tilting his head in curiosity.

"That was my Aunt Ramona, my dad's older sister. She wants us to stop by and see her. She says she may have a job for us." She explained.

"Where to?" Dean arched a brow at Amalia, "After we finish eating we'll head there. Better than wandering around aimlessly."

Kerica leaned back in her chair, legs spread apart and her knee bumped with Sam's, but she made no notice of it, too focused on her chicken sandwich, "You sounded like she was your favorite aunt in the world. She must be a nice woman."

"You know something I've noticed, pixie?" Dean smirked a bit at Kerica and watched her look up, eyes wide and face full of food. She looked pretty cute, if he had to be honest, "You act a lot like a dude."

Finishing her bite, Kerica chuckled behind her hand, "Tomboy through and through, babeh, but I can be a lady when I want - or need - to be." She sat up board straight, one foot tucking behind the other ankle, elbows off the table and she took her soda cup, hand in an elegant pose. Though she did miss the heat of Sam's knee on her now cold one.

"Princess Diaries much?" Dean snorted, snickering to himself.

"Shut up," Kerica rolled her eyes and dropped the act, sipping her drink.

"Tomboy or Princess, you do have good posture. You don't slump like a lot of teenagers these days," Dean smirked, grabbing his own soda and leaning back just she had been previously.

Amalia giggled and sipped her drink while Dean and Kerica talked among one another, while Sam tried to keep his composure as the girl beside him pressed her knee against his. It made his face flush a bright red, but only for a brief moment. He took a sip of his coffee in hopes of calming his nerves, but only made it worse.

"It's in Detroit, Michigan," Amalia said, turning her gaze to Dean. "It's not that far from where we are now. My dad and I used to go visit her during the holidays, and she would do the same once in a while. After dad died, she became a recluse. She was a hunter herself, but she retired."

"Makes sense," Sam chimed in. "This job isn't easy, and it can really take a toll on you."

She nodded, a sad smile appearing on her face. "Yeah..."

After they had finished eating, the group then proceeded to head to their vehicles. Rogue barked happily at the sight of his owner, wagging his tail while his large head poked through the open window of Dean's impala.

"Detroit of all places...why couldn't it be Chicago or something?" Dean muttered to himself, and he watched Kerica hop to her mustang, "Hey Sam," he said as he caught Amalia's shoulder. He dug the keys out of his jacket and tossed them to his brother, "I'll be right with you, get her started and turn up the AC," he instructed and waited for him to leave before turning to Amalia, "So...this isn't the...most /romantic/ place...but will you be my girlfriend?" he held his hands up as her eyes widened, "For simplicity reasons, mostly. I don't want to go into some bar joint or be on a case and some sicko hits on you, and I can't make them back off unless I have something to threaten them with, ya know?"

Sam had managed to catch the keys and looked at the two in confusion, before it finally clicked in his head. "Sure thing." He said, turning to start the car with a knowing smirk on his face, following his brother's instructions.

Amalia felt his hand on her shoulder and turned to face the man with a tilt of her head, slightly confused. "What's up?" She asked, facing him completely before his words took her by surprise. Wait... What? Her heart beat quickened and her eyes grew wide, only to see his hands raise in defense. Hearing his explanation, her face softened and she felt a wave of disappointment rush over her. She felt her face grow hot and rubbed her arm lightly, before looking up at him with a sweet smile. "I understand..." She said, trying not to sound as disappointed as she felt. "I uh..." Amalia paused for a moment, her face growing bright red before she parted her lips to speak. "I'd love to be your girlfriend." She said, honesty in her words.

"I'm sorry," Dean shifted, "I'll, uh...talk to you when we get there." He smiled weakly and hurried off to the Impala, ears burning. He tried to ignore Sam's smirk as he got in, but he /had/ to glance over and grumbled under his breath as he shook his head and changed gears, "Before you say anything to me, you should ask her out." When Sam's smile faded and he cleared his throat, Dean pulled out of the parking lot, "That's what I thought."

~*~

Detroit, Michigan

The drive from Ohio to Michigan didn't take very long, only four hours and it was now two in the afternoon. Getting step-by-step instructions, they finally made it to Amalia's Aunt's house. Parking along the side of the road, Dean made sure everything was secure, not liking this neighborhood and bad memories making him paranoid. Getting out, he slipped his pistol in the back of his jeans and then looked at Sam.

Amalia immediately felt anxious once they stepped foot onto her aunt's front door, biting the inside of her right cheek nervously. It had been years since she had last seen her father's sister, and she knew that Ramona wouldn't be so fond of her becoming a Hunter, especially with the Winchesters. She hadn't wanted to stay long, so she left Rogue in the car. With a deep breath, she released it slowly and rang the doorbell, waiting with a frantic heart. Once the door opened, she smiled sweetly at the larger woman who stood before her with a smile of happiness.

"Amalia, my dear!" She pulled the red head into her arms in a loving embrace, earning one in return.

"It's good to see you, Aunt Ramona." Amalia giggled, laughing aloud as she felt her aunt lift her off the ground before carefully putting her back on her feet.

"Let me look at you," The dark haired woman said with a smile before taking two steps back to examine her niece. "You grew into a beautiful young woman." She observed, holding the girl's face in her hands before turning to the Winchester brothers with a welcoming smile. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Dean and Sam. I'm Ramona Rae." She introduced as she shook both their hands. Seeing Kerica, she smiled even more and turned to Amalia. "Who's this then?"

"This is Kerica Knight." Amalia said with a smile, while Ramona shook the brunette's hand.

"Let's head inside, shall we?" Ramona chuckled, leading the four of them inside, as well as Rogue, before closing the door.

"I love your house," Kerica complimented as they all entered the home, being led to the living room. There were loads of bookshelves and display cases and cabinets. If there was a book laying out it was neatly stacked on a table.

"This place looks like Bobby's only...cleaner," Dean arched a brow at his brother.

Sam chuckled and shrugged his shoulders at Dean, hands buried in his pants pockets. He looked around as well, feeling comfortable and welcomed in the house. Amalia had allowed her dog Rogue to explore, making sure he didn't knock anything over. Ramona smiled softly at Kerica's compliment, chuckling softly before brewing some coffee for the four of them.

"Thank you, dear!" She said sweetly. "I try my best to keep up with this house, since I live all by myself." She explained, giving Kerica the first cup of coffee.

"You live here alone?" Sam said, a look of concern etched on his face which caused Ramona to smile even more.

"I would never wish for anyone to be exposed to the Hunter lifestyle. Which is why I never married." She said, giving Sam and Dean their coffee next before handing Amalia her own. The redhead sat next to Dean on the couch, sipping the dark hot liquid. Ramona seemed to sense the awkwardness between her and Dean, and a chuckle left her lips.

"Oh, how nice it must be to be young." She grinned, causing Amalia to look up at her aunt in confusion. "You two must be dating, am I correct?"

Amalia nearly choked on her coffee, swallowing hard and setting her mug down on the table, coughing lightly before looking up with a beet red face. "No!! I-I mean, yes! I mean...!" She was stuttering now, covering her face with her hands to hide her embarrassment which made Ramona laugh aloud.

"How adorable!" She said with a smile, while Amalia continued to hide her face from everyone.

Kerica hated coffee, but didn't want to be rude and say no after it'd already been poured for her. So she simply let it sit on the coffee table. She smirked at Amalia and nudged her friend, "Oooh, you didn't mention that in the car. Is that why you were as red as your hair?" she teased.

"Recently dating...like, today," Dean shook his head, shifting awkwardly, "We only started working together a week ago," he explained to Ramona, "Anyway," he cleared his throat, "What's this case you have for us?"

Ramona chuckled softly at the sight, watching as the red head slowly uncovered her face and glared playfully at her friend. "Ah yes... Thank you for reminding me." The larger woman said with a smile, taking a sip of her coffee before setting it down on the table in front of her. She let out a deep sigh, causing her niece to look up at her with concern. "The neighbors here have been acting rather strange, claiming to see a little boy wandering around town who appears somewhat transparent." She explained.

Sam blinked a few times before his lips formed a hard line, looking to his brother with a serious look in his eyes. "So we're dealing with a spirit?" He asked, turning to face Ramona.

"That's what I'm thinking. But I honestly don't know for sure if what my neighbors' claims are true. That's why I need your help." She said.

"Have there been any reports of who he might be, or if he's done anything?" Dean asked, folding his arms, "We need more to go on before we jump in."

"So far, no reports on who this boy is. All I know is his appearance. I plan on doing more research on the matter." Ramona explained simply, taking a sip of her coffee. Amalia felt that something was rather off about her aunt. She was still the sweet, loving woman she had known while growing up, yet she wasn't completely herself. She couldn't point her finger on it, but she seemed much more...distant.

"Amalia, dear. May I speak to you for a moment, please?" The larger woman asked, earning a hesitant nod from her niece.

"Um, sure..." She smiled and stood on her feet, walking over to the back of the kitchen, unaware of Dean silently following after them. Amalia stood in front of her aunt with a look of nervousness, biting her lip lightly. "What's up?" She asked, only to earn a hard look from the older woman.

"As much as I don't want to say it, but I think you made a mistake in getting involved with these people." She spoke, making Amalia grow wide eyed. "You shouldn't have followed in your father's footsteps. Nothing good can come from being a Hunter. It only causes you grief."

Amalia gave her aunt a hard expression, standing her ground. "This was my decision, Aunt Ramona. I wanted to go with Dean and the others because I want to help them."

The larger woman sighed deeply, shaking her head. "Amalia... Listen very carefully. I want you to leave these people, and stay here with me. You can live a normal life, a safe life. A life without death, and heartbreak." She said calmly, only for the redhead to back away.

"Aunt Ramona.... I understand that you're worried, but I can't stay."