Pilot.

CHAPTER THREE , PILOT

a/n : *CONTENT WARNING* this chapter has mentions of self harm

Please skip if you're uncomfortable!

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"Whoa..."

Athena's eyes travel around the newspapers and the yarn threading across the room and the walls. Everyone splits up into different corners of the room, looking through the piles of research John left.

Athena looks at the wall of newspaper clippings. Her eyes examine the piles of papers on the table. They were tousled but still stacked on top of each other.

"He hasn't been here for a couple days." Athena states. "At least."

"Salt, Cat's-eye shells." Sam lists off. "He was worried, trying to keep something from coming in."

Sam and Dean walk over to Athena, whose eyes were glued to the papers on the wall.

"What do you got over here?"

Athena sticks her pinky finger into her ear. "Centennial Highway Victims," she states.

"I don't get it." Dean speaks. "I mean, different men, different jobs, ages, ethnicities. There's always a connection, right? What do these guys have in common?"

Athena turns around and looks at the other papers on the walls. She squints her eyes and presses her lips together.

Woman in White...

Athena raises her brows, "Daddy figured it out."

"What do you mean?" Dean asks, walking over to the auburn-haired girl.

Athena points at the newspaper clipping taped to the wall. Sam slightly tilts his head.

"He found the same article we did." Sam states. "Constance Welch. She's a woman in white."

Athena frowns, "I was going to say that."

Dean quietly chuckles, "You sly dogs." he looks back at the men on the wall. "All right, so if we're dealing with a woman in white, dad would have found the corpse and destroyed it."

"She might have another weakness." Athena states.

Both the brothers turn to their younger sister.

"No, dad would want to make sure." Dean states. "He'd dig her up. Does it say where she's buried?"

Athena squints her eyes, "No, not that I can tell."

"If I were dad, though, I'd go ask her husband, if he's still alive," Sam suggests.

"All right, why don't you see if you can find an address?" Dean pats Athena on her back. "I'm gonna go get cleaned up."

Athena grabs her bag and sits at the table.

"Hey, Dean, what I said earlier about mom and dad--I'm sorry."

Dean holds up his hand, "No Chick-Flick moments."

Sam lets out a soft chuckle, "All right, jerk."

"Bitch."

Athena smiles softly at the two. Sam and Dean have always had a good relationship. She had to admit, there were times she would be envious of that. But she understood her place.

Half sibling.

Athena swallows and focuses on the laptop in front of her. After about 30 minutes of researching, Dean walked out of the bathroom.

"Hey, I'm starving," Dean speaks. "I'm gonna grab a little something to eat at that diner down the street. You guys want anything?"

Sam shakes his head, his phone against his ear. "No."

Dean looks at the young girl, "Athy?"

Athena looks up from her laptop and gives him a small smile. "Uh--no. I'm good, thanks."

Dean lets out a breath, "I swear. When was the last time you ate?"

Sam looks at his little sister and Athena tenses.

"You know--a few hours ago." she shrugs, nervously looking back at the laptop. Liar. "Drive safe."

Dean rolls his eyes, "Yeah, okay." he slips his jacket on and walks out of the motel.

For a moment, silence settles into the room. Athena starts to type vigorously on the keyboard, pretending to be working.

"Hey, you don't..."

Athena's stomach tightens.

Sam falls silent, not knowing how to approach the situation. "You don't still...hurt yourself, right?"

Athena stops typing and her fingers start to shake. "That only happened once." she forces out a chuckle, but the pain and anxiety was evident in her voice. "I didn't...want to--I mean, I don't know..." she stops talking, her breathing becoming quick.

Sam tosses his phone to the side, stands up from the bed, and quickly walks over to her. He sits across from Athena. "Hey, hey...I'm sorry. I didn't mean to freak you out." his voice was soft.

Athena scratches her wrist and exhales through her nose. She knew Sam meant well, but she hated having this conversation. It just gave her so many flashbacks from when he first caught her in the bathroom.

"I just...I worry about you, Athy."

Athena pulls her brows together, "You...worry. Like as in you've been worrying about me since the beginning of time--even after you left?"

She didn't mean to sound hopeful. Athena wish she didn't, because as soon as she saw Sam's eyes sadden, she was left feeling abandoned once again.

"Oh."

Sam slightly opens his mouth, "Athena, I should've taken you with me."

Athena shakes her head, "You had your own life. I'm glad you got out."

"I promised you," Sam says.

And you broke that promise.

"Everything happens for a reason." A soft smile forms on Athena's lips. "Besides, I'm glad one of us is...living the dream. I'm proud of you."

A sad smile twitches onto Sam's lips. He touches the side of Athena's neck and pulls her into a hug. Athena wraps her arms around his middle and blinks away her tears.

"I love you, you know that?" Sam says softly.

Athena clears her throat, "I love you too." she separates from him.

From the bed, Sam's phone rang. He walks over to the phone and answers it, giving Athena time to wipe her tears. Sam puts the phone on speaker.

"Five-O, takeoff."

Sam and Athena quickly exchange a look. Athena slips her laptop into her Hello Kitty bag and zips it shut.

"What about you?" Sam asks.

"Uh, they kind of spotted me. Go find dad."

The call ends.

Sam looks out the window and Athena slips her backpack onto her shoulders.

"They're coming," Sam says.

"Bathroom." Athena points into the bathroom at the window.

Sam nods his head, he slips his phone into his pocket and wraps an arm around Athena's waist. He picks her up and she groans.

"I can walk myself," Athena says.

"Can you jump out the window yourself?" Sam asks.

Athena closes her mouth, not replying.

Sam sets her down and opens the window. Athena closes the bathroom door and locks it.

"Come on, Athy."

Athena runs over to the window and stands on the edge of the bathtub. Sam holds his hands out, and Athena plants her red Chuck Taylors into his hand. He lifts her up, Athena grips the window and crawls through it. She jumps out of the window and lands on the blacktop.

Athena watches Sam quickly maneuver out of the window and onto the pavement.

"Operation avoid the Pigs is a success." Athena sends Sam a thumbs up.

"Hey, you two!"

Sam and Athena turn to the cop who was standing at the end of the alleyway, staring at them.

"Run...run!" Sam grabs Athena once again and she groans.

"Again with the carrying!"

☆

"Yeah, he was older, but that's him."

Joseph hands the picture back to Sam. Athena taps Sam's arm and he hands the picture to her. The auburn-haired girl looks at the picture and her jaw tightens. The picture that John had stuck to his mirror and it didn't even have her in it. Athena lets out a quiet sigh and hands the picture back to Sam. Now that she thinks about it, did she ever take pictures with them?

Athena tunes back into the conversation.

"Well, I don't know what the hell kind of story you're working on--the questions he asked me..."

"About your late wife, Constance," Sam speaks.

Joseph looks at Sam, "He asked me where she was buried."

"And where is that again?" Sam inquires.

Athena rolls her eyes. Very subtle.

"What, I got to go through this twice?" Joseph huffs.

"It's fact-checking." Athena states. "If you don't mind."

Joseph looks at the young girl. "Aren't you a little young to be a reporter?"

Athena bunches her shoulders, "Just think. When I get to be his age..."

She points at Sam. "...I'll be even better."

"Yeah...let's not get ahead of ourselves." Sam lets out a chuckle.

Joseph cracks a small smile. "In a plot behind my old place over on Breckenridge."

Sam shakes his head in disbelief, he doesn't know how Athena does it. She was able to break down this man's rough exterior, even if it was for a simple question.

"Why did you move?" Sam asks.

Joseph takes a moment before answering. "I'm not gonna live in the house where my children died."

"Mr. Welch, did you ever marry again?" Sam inquires.

"No way." Joseph answers. "Constance--she was the love of my life, prettiest woman I ever known."

"So you had a happy marriage?" Sam asks.

Joseph pauses, then he swallows. Athena slightly tilts her head, catching the hesitation.

"Definitely." Joseph answers.

Sam looks at Athena and just from the look in her eyes he could tell that Joseph was lying. "Well, that should do it." he inhales. "Thanks for your time."

Sam and Athena walk over to the car, while Joseph starts to walk back to his house. Sam pulls the keys out of his pocket before he could unlock the car, he stops.

"Mr. Welch, you ever hear of a woman in white?" Sam asks, turning to Joseph.

Joseph stops and turns to the two siblings. "A what?"

"A woman in white or sometimes a weeping woman." Athena clarifies, sticking her pinky into her ear.

"It's a ghost story." Sam continues. "Well, it's more of a phenomenon, really." he starts to walk towards Joseph.

"Oh fiddlesticks." Athena whispers, following after Sam.

"They're spirits. They've been sighted for hundreds of years, dozens of places in Hawaii and Mexico, lately in Arizona, Indiana. All these are different women, you understand, but all share the same story."

Joseph's entire demeanor changes. "Boy, I don't care much for nonsense." he starts to walk away again, but Sam follows.

"You see, when they were alive, their husbands were unfaithful to them..."

Joseph stops in his tracks and Athena slightly tilts her chin up.

"...and these women, basically suffering from temporary insanity, murdered their children." Sam continues. "Then, once they realized what they had done, they took their own lives. So now their spirits are cursed, walking back roads, waterways, and if they find an unfaithful man, they kill him, and that man is never seen again."

Joseph's jaw clenches and his lips start to quiver. "You think...you think that has something to do with Constance, you smartass?"

"Maybe we should g--"

"You tell me."

Athena presses her lips together.

"I mean, maybe--maybe I made some mistakes, but no matter what I did, Constance never would have killed her own children." Joseph chokes out.

Athena gnaws on her lower lip.

"Now, you two get the hell out of here, and you don't come back." Joseph snaps.

Athena grabs Sam's sleeve jacket and tugs him back towards the car. Once they get into the car, Sam lets out a breath. "Hey, do you think that you're acting skills have gotten better by any chance?"

Athena looks at Sam who had a mischievous look in his eyes.

☆

"Fake 911 phone call, Sammy? I don't know that's pretty illegal."

Sam chuckles, "Yeah, well. You can thank Athena for that one."

"Our Athy?"

Athena rolls her eyes, "I'll take that as a Thank you. You're Welcome."

"Listen we gotta talk."

"Tell me about it." Sam huffs. "So the husband was unfaithful. We are dealing with a woman in white. And she's buried behind her old house. So that should've been dad's next sto--"

"Sammy, would you shut up for a second?"

Athena pulls her brows together. "We just can't figure out why hasn't he destroyed the corpse yet."

"That's what I'm trying to tell you guys," Dean says. "He's gone. Dad left Jericho."

Athena and Sam quickly look at each other. "Wait--how do you know that?"

"I've got his journal." Dean states.

Athena slumps in her chair and exhales a soft breath. "He doesn't go anywhere without it..."

"Well, he did this time," Dean says.

"What's it say?" Sam asks.

"Same old ex-Marine crap when he wants to let us know where he's going," Dean explains.

Athena places a hand over her forehead, closing her eyes.

"Coordinates. Where to?" Sam asks.

"I'm not sure yet." Dean states.

"What the H-E-Double hockey sticks is going on?" Athena opens her eyes, meeting the road. Her mouth quickly opens when she sees the Woman in the road.

"Sam!"

He slams his foot on the brake. Sam holds his arm out in front of Athena when she jerks forward. She pulls her face back, her hair in front of her face.

"Are you all right?" Sam looks over his little sister. "Anything broken? Aching? What?"

Athena shakes her head, "No, no...I'm good." she looks ahead and doesn't see the woman in the road.

"Take me home."

Athena and Sam jump, turning to the woman.

"Take. Me. Home." Constance repeats.

"No."

Every car door locks and Athena flinches. She turns to her door and pulls at the lock. "Uh--"

The car quickly starts to speed down the highway. Athena turns to her brother. "Sam--"

"It's not me," Sam says, he looks into the rearview mirror and stares at Constance.

"Oh...okay. I just...wanted to make sure." Athena sinks in her seat as the Impala drifts around a corner. She closes her eyes and swallows.

Suddenly the car slows to a stop, Athena looks out her window and sees the abandoned house.

"You don't have to do this," Sam says.

"I can never go home," Constance whispers.

Athena raises her brows,"You're scared to go home..."

Athena's seatbelt flies off of her and the car doors unlock. The car door on Athena's side flies open, and her eyes widen.

"Or maybe you're not afraid to go home!" Athena lets out a nervous chuckle. "I don't know what I'm talking ab—" she feels a force yank her out of the car.

Athena lands hard on her back. The young girl gasps loudly and coughs.

"Athena!"

The auburn-haired girl slowly starts to move her body, her back immediately flaring with pain. The car door slams shut and her eyes widen. She stands up and runs over to the car. Athena bangs her hands against the window. She pulls at the door handle, unable to open it.

"No, no, no..." Athena's breathing quickens. Screams come from the car and Athena tangles her hands into her hair. "SAM!"

Gunshots echo through the area, causing Athena to crouch down with her arms over her head. Silence settles into the area for a moment.

"Athena?!"

The girl inhales a shaky breath, she stands up and spots Dean making his way over to her. "Are you okay?" he inspects her tear-stained face.

Athena opens her mouth, trying to say something, but nothing came out. She pulls her brows together, realizing what happened.

Sam almost died and she panicked. If Dean wasn't there to save Sam, Athena wouldn't have saved him.

The car starts once again, catching Athena and Dean's attention. Sam slams his foot on the gas pedal, speeding the car into the front of the house. Athena's mouth hangs open and Dean's nose flares.

"My car!" Dean shouts.

"Sam!" Athena shouts, running towards the house.

"Yeah...him too..." Dean murmurs, following after his sister.

"Sam?!" Athena shouts again, making it into the house.

"Here!"

Athena runs over to the car and peaks inside. "A-Are you okay?" she asks.

"I think." Sam manages to get out.

"Can you move?" Dean also peaks inside.

"Yeah...help me." Sam holds his hand out to his siblings.

Athena opens the car door, which was now unlocked. Dean helps Sam out of the car. The siblings all turn but freeze seeing Constance in front of them with a picture frame in her hand. Constance slams the picture down and steps to the side, allowing the dresser to ram into their abdomens.

With every second, Athena feels the dresser press further and further into her abdomen. She lets out a quiet cry, trying to catch her breath.

Before Constance could end their lives, the minimal lights in the house start to flicker. Constance turns to the staircase and sees water spilling from them, at the top of the stairs were her children.

"You've come home to us, mommy." the children speak.

Athena's eyes shift to the kids that were now in front of Constance, down the stairs. They wrap their arms around Constance, causing her to scream in agony. Athena flinches and looks away as Constance sinks into the floor, leaving a puddle of water.

Dean shoves the dresser off of them. Athena lets out a breath and coughs. Her hand flies over her stomach.

"So this is where she drowned her kids," Dean says, walking over to the puddle with Sam.

"That's why she could never go home..." Sam says.

"...she was too scared to face them." Athena lets out a breath.

"You found her weak spot. Nice work, Sammy." Dean praises his brother. He walks over to the car, noticing Athena still standing there. "You did good, Athy."

Athena wanted to shake her head, she wanted to tell Dean 'You don't have to lie to me', she wanted to hit her hands over her head repeatedly and sob. But she lets out a soft chuckle and forces a warm smile.

"Thanks, Dean!" She beams.

"What were you thinking shooting Casper in the face like that, ya freak?" Sam looks at Dean with an incredulous expression.

"Saved your ass." Dean points at Sam. He lightly shoves Athena to the side and she grunts. "I'll tell you another thing. If you screwed up my car, I'll kill you."

"Says the one who just shot the windows in," Athena murmurs, rubbing her stomach.

Sam points at Athena, "What she said."

☆

After the hunt, Sam had to be dropped off back at home for his interview. The car ride was silent, but Athena felt good about this hunt. She was gonna miss Sam though. The Impala rolled to a stop. Sam gets out of the car and Athena climbs into the front.

"You'll call me when you two find him?" Sam asks.

Athena presses her lips into a smile. "Of course."

"Maybe I can meet up with you guys later, huh?"

Athena's smile becomes smaller than before, but she nods her head. When Sam aces this interview (which he obviously will) there's no way he'll have any free time for them. It's not like he had any before either. Dean knew that too, but he still replied.

"Yeah, all right."

Sam starts to walk away and a lump forms in Athena's throat. She didn't want this to be the last time to see Sam. But she felt like it was.

"Sam," Dean calls out.

Sam turns back around towards the car.

"You know, we made a Hell of a team back there," Dean says.

Athena raises her brows, never has she heard those words come out of Dean's mouth. But the youngest Winchester had to admit. It felt amazing working on a case with her brothers again.

Sam smiles softly, "Yeah."

Dean starts the car again.

"Wait." Athena quickly says.

Dean looks at his little sister who was on the verge of tears. He looks at Sam and then back at Athena. "Go," he says, understanding her panic.

Athena exhales a soft breath, she opens the door and runs over to her brother. "Sam!"

Sam turns around and is greeted with a tight hug from Athena. He stumbles back but regains his footing. Sam chuckles softly and touches the back of Athena's head.

"Thanks."

Sam pulls his brows together, "For what?" he looks down at her.

Athena separates from Sam and wipes her tears. "For joining us...Dean's right. We made a...heck of a team back there."

Sam presses his lips together, "I know you don't like to say curse words. But heck...is a word no one should ever say."

They both start to laugh. Sam crouches in front of his little sister as she wipes her tears.

"I'm gonna miss you," Athena says.

"Hey, I'll see you guys soon," Sam replies.

A small breath leaves Athena's lips, "Right. A big shot lawyer making time for...us."

"I don't know about big shot, but...I'll make time." Sam nods. "I promise."

Out of everyone. He shouldn't be making any promises.

Athena smiles softly and she holds up her pinky. Sam laughs and interlocks his pinky with hers. "I promise I will see you guys soon."

That relieved a bit of the tension in her chest. Athena pulls her pinky away from Sam's and runs back towards the car.

"Good luck tomorrow!" Athena waves and gets back into the car.

Sam waves at his two siblings at the Impala drives away. Athena looks at Dean, "Do you think we'll see Sam again?"

Dean inhales, "With how unpredictable and chaotic this family is...I wouldn't be surprised."

Athena smiles softly, but her smile soon fades and she pulls her brows together. She scratches her wrist and presses her lips together.

"Dean."

"Yeah?"

"Can you...turn around?"

Dean looks at his younger sister who had a face of uncertainty on her face. A crease was formed between her brows, her mouth was slightly open, and her breathing was quick.

"Athena--"

"Something's wrong," Athena says, slowly shaking her head.

"What are you talking about?" Dean asks, his back straightening.

Athena looks at Dean and his eyes meet her shaking blue ones. Just from that look of fear, Dean slams his foot on the gas and turns the wheel, speeding back towards Stanford.

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Author's Note:

That's the end of episode 1! I hope you all enjoyed it, make sure to vote and comment! <3333