This Life (Open)

[bobbiwinchester]

Bobbi rolled her eyes again trying to play off like his words and actions weren't getting to her but the minute he was out of sight she turned and buried her flushed face into her cold pillow. She could not let it show how much he was getting to her. She was not naive by any means but having a Winchester for a Dad mean certain levels of overprotective behaviour that had basically blacklisted her from being able to date.

Strangely enough she'd been a good solider and hadn't gone on a crazy rebellion, from what she had heard the opposite of her older cousin. After a moment of getting herself together she sat back up and figured the best solution was just to act as though nothing was different, he wasn't even there with her. It was just another night on the road which meant nighttime soaps on bad tv and going over her tracking notes.

She changed quickly out of her day clothes and into a tank and shorts to sleep in before rummaging through her duffle for her journal. She had two her hunt journal and her tracking journal. Despite her fathers insistence that hunting was the most important thing, Bobbi knew it wasn't true family was, or at least she had thought her father thought that until he took off on them. Maybe she was just wasting her time trying to find him, maybe hunting this thing with Kaleb had been the right decision something productive maybe if she was meant to find her dad she would just stumble across him. Running a hand through her mess of dark curls she tossed the notes on the ground and lay back staring at the ceiling letting her mind empty.

[kaleb]

Kaleb continued to bathe himself as he tried to figure out what had been bothering him so much lately. This job was a simple one, it shouldn't have bothered him so much. Maybe he was just nervous about working with Bobbi? Kaleb didn't necessarily have the best track record of working with people, he only did it every now and then. Suddenly it all clicked in Kaleb's head.

Kaleb jumped out of the shower quickly slipped and fell on his ass, and recovered slowly. He then quickly wrapped a towel around his lower body and walked into the room as he said "I am such a bleeding idiot! I swear I need to learn to think before I act!". Kaleb ran to his bag and removed his journal with the details of the possible target. He scattered the details onto the bed and started rifling through them and then smiled at Bobbi as he said "The attacks are happening to often in succession. It's not a bloody Werewolf I've been looking for. Full moon came and went three weeks ago. Nearest death was four days ago.

Kaleb pulled out the crime reports and after skimming them he said "The bite marks are apparently canine, so that rules out Wendigo. So large canine deaths in quick succession. Must be Skinwalkers. I can't tell if that's easier or harder but atleast I know what I'm hunting now. This would explain why no one has seen any Werewolf in the area". Kaleb flashed a huge grin to Bobbi, seemingly proud of himself until he realized one little fact. Here he stood in the middle of the room with nothing but a towel to cover himself, dripping wet from his shower. Kaleb laughed quietly as he said "Sorry, got a little ahead of myself". He slowly tried to back up to the bathroom but of course once his feet hit the hardfloor he slipped again and fell on his back. Someone obviously didn't like him very much.

[bobbiwinchester]

Bobbi heard a dangerous sound coming from the shower and it caught her attention enough to cause her to sit up again on the bed. She waited for a moment to see if there were any need to check on him and she was about to ask if he was okay when he suddenly appeared rattling off all his ideas.

"...you realised all this in the shower?" she asked. Usually the shower was the opposite for her she tried to avoid thinking as much as possible she just wanted to clear her mind and enjoy the moment of peace. Maybe it came back to the whole idea that the bathroom was really the only room in a house that locked, the only time she could make sure she got five minutes of peace, at least until her brother would come banging on the door trying to get her out of there. That was one thing she definitely didn't miss, having to share space with her brother.

She was really trying not to stare but she was shocked at the fact that he'd just burst into the room so suddenly with a complete break in the case. "Well, isn't that more difficult to track?" she asked. If the attacks were closer together it meant that whomever, or whatever it was had no care for a timeline or any sort of organization, at least with a Werewolf they could time out the moon to track it.

She just covered her eyes, she assumed just in time to prevent herself from seeing something she really shouldn't have been seeing but now she was at the mercy of trusting her instincts, or worse him to know when it was safe to look. "Are you okay?" she asked, with her luck he was probably injured and she would have to help him or something.

[kaleb]

Kaleb slowly recovered from his fall and closed the door lightly before saying "Yes I'm fine thank you, sorry to disturb you". He was glad that it hadn't led to an awkward situation, especially with someone he had just met. He slowly stepped back into the shower and finished quickly before returning to the room, clothed in a new pair of underwear and a pair of black wind pants leaving his upper body completely bare.

He moved quietly over to the bed and started to look over the info he had gathered. He nodded slowly as he said "Your right, it will be harder to track them. We also have to determine whether it is one or a pack, Skinwalkers have a strong pack mentality". Kaleb figured he needed to take a pointer from them seeing as he wasn't always a team player.

He pulled the picture of Jean Jacque Monde out of the stack and examined it closely. He noticed something on the man's arm and pulled out a magnifying glass to see closer. He smiled and moving over to sit next to Bobbi he said "Look here, see the tattoo on his arm? See the inscription?". On the left forearm of the elder Frenchman was a Latin inscription that said 'Mortem tuam est vita mea'. Kaleb laughed lightly as he said "The words mean Your death is my life, it is an old Hunter saying. This man is a retired Hunter. So atleast we know he is an ally". Kaleb turned and smiled brightly at Bobbi as he said "You must be my lucky charm. I'm on a roll. I might have to stick around with you". He winked lightly at her before standing up and stretching.

[bobbiwinchester]

" I thought they didn't really have a choice" she commented. From the stories she'd heard skinwalker packs were sort of like the mafia...once you were in you were in and that was it for life, there was no walking away, no leaving, no betrayal, not without dead. " Have you looks into the deaths....do they have any sort of connection, a common enemy, co-worker, friend, maybe they all went to the same coffee shop?" she asked. Canine inspired animals seemed to have a sense of protection, for either themselves or someone they cared about, if they found the connection between the targets they might just find the person responsible.

" I know Latin" she told him. She knew what it meant even without the translation she'd always been good at languages which was why she had aced french for nine years straight, after all most languages were latin base anyway. "So you've been hunting a hunter?" she asked jut for clarification. "Basically he's tracking whatever this is and you're tracking him?" that was one way to go about it sure but she generally liked to be ahead of the game and truth was a situation like this was rare, she didn't usually trust other hunters she didn't know, the game was far too life and death to just let anyone have your back.

" I'm no body's lucky charm" she assured him, or maybe he was right and instead of keeping the luck for herself she was instead giving it away to everyone else. She should really re-evaluate things if that was the case. "can't seem to make a single thing go right for myself, and yet some how I'm making your day" she pondered with a small smile shaking her head. " I think you just had a very lucky aha! moment. I am pretty sure I had nothing to do with it" with that she lay her head on the pillow so she was resting on her side watching him.

[kaleb]

Kaleb nodded quietly as he sat there deep in thought. He hadn't looked into the murders, atleast not in great detail. The assumption had been that the creature had been a Werewolf, and so he had spent his time looking for a Werewolf. As he tried to put the pieces together he started to get a headache. An old retired Hunter, Skinwalkers, and mysterious number of deaths. It was too much to piece together in one night. He would need more information to bring the case to a head, hopefully Monsuier Monde would be able to put the pieces together.

When Bobbi muttered that she was nobody's lucky charm, Kaleb was pulled from his thoughts to stare at her quizzicaly. She seemed so sad, depressed even. As if the world were against her and she was losing the will to fight back against all the bullshit. Kaleb smiled sweetly at her as he slowly reached over and brushed a small strand of hair from her face before saying "Don't worry about it lovely. Things are always darker before the day". He smiled reassuringly before slowly rising from her bed.

He stood and stretched before saying "Together you and I will solve this little puppy case and then if you would like, I might be able to help you find your father". He turned to her and offered her a quick wink and his world famous grin. She had offered him a bed to sleep in, and help on his mission, and she seemed so lost and alone that Kaleb couldn't help but want to help her. It was an instinctual need of his. It also didn't hurt that she was incredibly beautiful. Of course he knew he shouldn't go there. He barely knew her after all.

[bobbiwinchester]

"Don't worry about it I'm always like this" she assured him and that was a lie. Usually she was more optimistic, fun loving even but the moment hunting was involved she was all business, and she really knew how to hold a grudge. Maybe that was the problem, the change in her emotions was just her anger with everyone else's actions. What should she care what they were doing. Sure it affected her but she could just let it roll.

She sat in silence thinking it over, really thinking about what she wanted. Did she want to find her father? Yes, but clearly he didn't want her to find him so maybe she should be just giving up the effort. "I might just forget about it" she said thoughtfully. "... he left this time last year I don't think I'm going to find him" she remembered him missing Christmas and of all the things Sam Winchester had missed in her life time, things like Christmas and birthdays had been rare, he'd always tried to make sure he was there for the big things, she had started to really suspect him then, that had been right after Max had pulled a totally disappearing act too.

It had seemed like everyone in her life that she'd cared about had flaked out all at the same time. It was obvious she had trust issues and yet somehow had been talked into sharing a room with a complete stranger, she was really losing it. "I'd probably be better off using my skills to help other people instead of just me... " no one else cared if she sound her father...well, her mother and brother did but for every case she dropped to find him she probably could have saved 10 more people.

[kaleb]

Kaleb was unconvinced about her excuse. She seemed like someone who at one point could've been found smiling and laughing. Carefree to the deeper troubles of the world. But now she was all serious. Kaleb turned and stared intently into her eyes as she contemplated giving up the search for her father.

He slowly sat back down next to her as he said "My Grandfather used to tell me stories of the Winchesters, Your family was once pretty famous. He used to tell me that when John Winchester disappeared his sons Dean and Sam traveled across America searching for him. And through this search they solved almost a hundred different cases. My point is that, looking for your father and hunting go hand in hand, you just need to find the balance between the two".

Kaleb tentatively placed his hand on hers as he said "I will help you find your father, and you can help me with my hunts. Sound like a fair trade right?". Kaleb made a mental note to call his grandpa Niall and ask if they had seen any reports on Sam Winchester. The least he could do was have his assets out searching.

[bobbiwinchester]

"Yeah I've heard all the stories too, my favorite was the one where he told me all my uncles had died and I had no family" she said suddenly angry against by the Winchester Legacy. She would much prefer to be a Blake...and it was the first time in her life she'd ever thought that. The Blake lifestyle was never really her Style, the auctions, the black tie events, the twenty people thanksgiving dinners with complete strangers sitting next to her, but more and more she had been growing to want to distance herself from the Winchester name, it brought nothing but misery.

In retrospect Bobbi Blake sounded like some horrible joke, a talk show host or something. Maybe she would just pick a whole new name and legally change it, that was allowed she was 18 now she could essentially do whatever she wanted to. God, she hadn't even thought about Christmas and she knew she'd have to go home she wasn't going to completely abandon the family she had left the ones who had been caught in the crossfire and lies just like she had.

"Feel like crashing a Christmas?" she asked. Not that her grandparents would likely notice an extra person in the room, though they might notice if she was the one dragging the extra person in. It was still a couple weeks away but Albany wasn't exactly close and there was a hunt or several on the road ahead but he was promising to help her on her search and she had a feeling that wasn't going to end any time soon.

[kaleb]

Kaleb listened intently to her as her voice grew angry. It was obvious that being a Winchester had its flaws. Then again he knew the feeling well. Being a McPhail brought its own baggage with it. A constant responsibility to the Hunt. A constant responsibility to the clan.

When she asked him if he would like to crash a Christmas he had to cock an eyebrow. Crash a Christmas? He smiled as he said "Your inviting me to Christmas? Does this mean we have decided to take our relationship to the next level? I was kind of hoping for a kiss first but no matter".

He laughed happily as he said "Sure, why not? I love Christmas. You get to sing a few songs that are just dreadfully boring and you get to plaster a fake smile on for your family and friends because its the holiday. So much fun". He smiled and squeezed her hand gently before letting go and saying "If you need me for anything then I am here, Its not like I have anything else to do here in America besides kill Vampires and Werewolves and Leprechauns. Actually I've never found a Leprechaun, do you think if I shot one then lucky charms would explode everywhere?". That was Kaleb, a compendium of intellectual thinking.

[bobbiwinchester]

Bobbi shook her head with a laugh though she turned her head to make sure her dark curls covered her face to hide her blush. Last time she'd been kissed she'd been fifteen and she was pretty sure it had been done on a dare. See who could kiss Bobbi Winchester in front of her dad and survive. Funny thing was he hadn't even noticed, he'd been too busy to care, or at least to notice.

"don't flatter yourself, I just need to be home for Christmas and if I'm being dragged through it I sure as hell am not doing it alone" she told him. "besides the idea of someone alone on Christmas is depressing no matter how over done the holiday is" truth was, there were parts about christmas she didn't mind. Going over to the Van Buren's on Christmas Eve had always been fun spending time with Max, Josh and MJ music, and baking. It had been, probably one of the most normal things in her life. She wasn't anticipating going to the neighbours this year it was going to be an in and out.

"...are Leprechauns real?" she asked though admittedly she didn't know why she found that so hard to believe, they were just supposed to be faeries and well, strangely enough those little buggers existed. "guess they could don't know why that idea seems so far fetched" her father had told her at one time they hadn't believed Vampires were real and yet one had pillaged her own home town not too long ago, actually it had been a couple years she'd probably only been about twelve or thirteen when it happened, but she remembered it specifically.

[kaleb]

Kaleb smiled at Bobbi before laying back with his head resting softly on her leg. The movement had a double meaning. Partly was just to tease her while the other part was he generally felt relaxed with her. No need to feel so guarded, she seemed guarded enough for both of them. He sighed softly as he said "Christmas has always been just another day with my family. No need to stop working for a day when there are always monsters to kill".

He watched her intently as she hid her face from him but he still managed to notice the blush on her face. So he was getting to her? It was difficult for him to figure out how he felt about that. A sense of achievement? Or a sliver of interest? The second part seemed to be winning.

When she asked if Leprechauns were real he nearly fell off the bed with laughter. He thought for a moment before saying "I'm not really sure, I've never heard of any being found. But in our line of work would it really be that surprising?". He watched her for a moment before finally asking "By the way, why do you hide your face when you blush? Your actually quite cute when you do, seems a shame to hide that".

[bobbiwinchester]

When he leaned his head on her leg she actually didn't tense up which was what she had been anticipating in fact, somehow, maybe by instinct, for a moment her fingers touched his hair before she quickly realised and drew her hand back. "Yes well... half my family is..." she paused for a moment not wanting to use the world normal, but she didn't really know what else to say about them. "oblivious to the business so they wouldn't exactly understand" she said. Her grandfather would have none of it, she was expected to show her face, as was Joey and her Mother.

Her grandfather had long given up hope on Sam and she knew that he'd never liked him, it was no family secret but she couldn't exactly blame him, her Mom wasn't exactly living the dream, her husband was home, if she was lucky one week every few months and now he'd been missing for an entire year. It was hard to make excuses for that. "sometimes it's nice to forget, just for day that everything is bad" she added as if her mind had gone into a temporary daze.

"Because it's a sign of a weakness" she said lifting her head now her eyes actually meeting his. "First rule, never show your weaknesses, letting someone see a weakness is letting them see exactly how to defeat you, what it takes to hurt you" she said her voice dead serious not even a hint of joking. She meant it. Guarded was right and she didn't really know why, he hadn't done anything to her, nor did she think he was going to, perhaps it was just instinct, or maybe she was guarding against her own feelings, the more guarded she was the less she let her mind wander or her emotions start to push into her mind.

[kaleb]

When she didn't tense from their physical contact he smiled despite himself. Maybe she was actually getting more comfortable with him? Of course, Kaleb was like a fungus, he grew on you eventually. He listened to her talk about her maternal family and he struggled to understand. The McPhail clan was actually almost a dozen families brought together under the name McPhail these families tended to marry into each other so Kaleb had never had a family member who was oblivious to the Hunt.

He was so busy trying to wrap his hand around keeping such a secret from family that he almost didn't catch the change in her voice. He turned his head slightly to frown at her as she spoke. To most hunters her words would have rang true but not to Kaleb. He had seen what repressing one's emotions does to them first hand, with his brother.

He rose slowly and moved closer until he was a mere few inches away from Bobbi's face as he said "Expressing your feelings doesn't make you weak, it makes you stronger. It's easier to hide from your feelings than it is to admit to them". He paused and reached over and with his hand on her chin he gently turned her to face him as he said "Without letting people in to see how we feel, we are no better than the monsters we hunt". He stopped there, not willing to go any further as he stared deep into her eyes. Had he gone too far? He would probably find out. She didn't seem like the type of person to stay quiet when someone invaded their personal space.

[bobbiwinchester]

Before she even knew what had happened Bobbi found herself face to face with him. He was really close...too close, he'd actually surprised her, which was generally hard to do. People were usually too afraid to invade her space like that, afraid probably wasn't the right word, intimidated maybe they knew exactly what would happen if they did, the only problem was she wasn't reacting like she should have, in fact she was frozen in place.

She felt like she couldn't breath was she breathing? She didn't feel like she was breathing like it had caught in her throat or something, and even if she was she couldn't hear it because her heart was pounding so hard it was all she could hear. Could he hear it? Well he'd succeeded at one thing she was speechless. It took her a moment to find her voice, and her breathing again before she could speak.

"You're too close" she said and could have kicked herself if she cared because her voice had sounded a lot more convincing in her mind than how it had come out. She had been more sure of herself than she felt now, and before she could even give him a chance to move out of her space Bobbi Winchester did the one thing she would never have bet money on, she kissed him. Why? She couldn't explain it, or rationalize it and she didn't really want to, it required too much thought. She would conclude however that she had gone officially insane.