ZEN i [JACK KLINE]

T H I R T E E N

13| S H I F T E R

MEANWHILE, IN THE studio, Dean drinks from his flask and acted like nothing happened. Mia looks at him and scoffs.

Dean raises an eyebrow. "Problem?"

Mia gives him a look. "You just upset your brother so much, he had to leave the room. You're sister can't even look at you unless she really needs to. And Jack? Look at him. He's terrified of you.", she points out.

Dean lets out a humourless chuckle. "Nah. No, we're simpatico. Right, kid?", he says giving Jack a hard look.

Jack gulps, his mind going back to the conversation they had before they came in the studio. "We're simpatico.", he answers in a flat tone.

"Convincing.", Mia says sarcastically. "You're angry, Dean."

"And?", Dean says nonchalantly.

"And if you don't want to do anything about it, that's your business. But you're aiming it at everyone in your life.", she says just as Sam and Zen burst into the room. Their guns pointing at Mia, who now stood up in fear.

"She's a shape-shifter!", Zen hissed as she instinctively moved closer to Jack.

Mia shakes her head in fear. "No, no..."

"We found hair... and teeth.", Sam states. Dean points his gun at the woman too while Jack watches the scene unfold in confusion.

"You must've shed your skin, what, couple of hours ago?", Zen says.

"And here, I just thought she was annoying.", Dean grunts.

"What's going on?", Jacks asks in confusion.

"Doc's a monster. She killed her patients.", Dean replies.

Mia furrows her brows. "No! No. No. I am what you say, but I have never killed anyone.", she says.

"Then, what are you doing here?", Sam asks still unconvinced.

"I'm helping people. My patients...I shift into the person that they've lost, so that they could see them one last time, so that they can say goodbye.", she explains.

Still unconvinced, Dean says, "Well, Wes Bailey and Gloria Simon...They're both dead.", he reveals.

Mia looks at him in shock. "What?"

"Gloria was killed by her son, or at least someone who looked like him.", Zen states.

"Three nights ago, Wes was killed by somebody who looked like his dead wife.", Sam adds.

"So you wanna tell us how you're innocent again?", Dean finishes.

Mia thinks for a second. "Okay, I, um... I have an alibi for Wes. I volunteer at the women's shelter downtown. I was there that night. You can call them. I know you guys are Hunters. But please, I am telling you the truth.", she states.

Zenja narrows her eyes at the woman and uses her ability to see if she had any bad bone in her body. She looks at her aura in surprise and slowly lowers her gun. It was a mixture of white and dark green, white being the pure side and green being the supernatural side. She was clean.

" She's telling the truth.", Zen says as she puts her gun back on the waist band of her jeans.

Her brothers look over at her in surprise. " What?"

She sighs. " I see auras remember? She's clean, trust me I'm just as surprised as you."

Her brothers contemplate for a moment before slowly placing their guns down.

"Okay. Well, if you're not doing this, who is?", Sam asks.

Mia thinks for a moment before her eyes widened in realisation. "Oh, God. I think I know.", she moves to take a box from drawer behind her.

"Hey...", Sam warns as he slowly reaches for his gun. Zen stops him and gives him a look, nodding towards the box Mia was holding.

Mia opens the box and takes out a photograph of a man and shows it to the siblings.

"His name's Buddy. When we got together, I was young and stupid. He's a shifter, like me. The only one I'd ever met other than my mother. But he liked hurting people.", Mia states.

"Did he hurt you?", Jack asks softly.

Mia nods sadly and replies, "I left. Changed my face, my name. Buddy wouldn't just kill people. He'd ruin their lives. He said he liked to see the look on their face when they realized they had nothing left. What I'm doing here... I know it can't make up for what...what he...", she sighs. "what we did, but I'm trying."

Zen frowned. "If Buddy is doing this, he's targeting your patients. So who else has access to this office, your notes, your appointments?"

"Patients and staff are in here all day.", Mia replies.

"If you had to pick one.", Dean says.

Mia thinks for a minute. "Uh... Tom, my assistant."

"I'll check it out.", Dean volunteers.

"I'll come with.", Jack says following him.

"Uh...", Dean started to protest but Sam and Zen clears their throats, giving him a look.

Dean sighs. "Fine. Whatever.", he walks out and Jack follows happily behind him but pauses for a minute and turns around to meet Zenja's eyes.

" Be...safe. ok?", he says slowly since he wasn't quite sure if he had said it right.

Zen's heart warmed and she smiled softly at him. " You too,J."

Jack smiles back at her and follows Dean to the impala. Zen tries to hide her red cheeks but Sam snorts at her flustered state.

She shoved him lightly before muttering, " Shut up..."

>•••<

SAM AND ZEN sits on the chairs in the Library. Zen was currently reading one of the Supernatural series by Carver Edlund. She flips through each page with a smile, relishing the memories. She remembers the days when they only had to deal with wendigos, vampires or the occasional ghosts. Those were the better days...

" You still have that book?", Sam asks with a grimace.

She laughs. " It's like our little family scrapbook, but without the stupid pictures from when we were kids."

Sam smiles softly when he remembers the days when Dean steals bread, peanut butter and jelly from stores because it was his favourite food. Or when he punched some guy at school because he had made fun of Zen. He had missed the simpler days...

Their thoughts get cut off when Dean enters the library with three bottles of beer. He chucks one at Sam and hands Zen the other.

Dean clears his throat. "Listen, man, back at, uh, Mia's, I was out of line. I'm sorry for being a... a d**k lately.", he apologises.

"Thanks."

" Took you long enough big brother."

The younger siblings stated simultaneously. Dean shoves Zen with a chuckle.

"And maybe you're right, about the kid. I mean, he tries. I'll give him that. And he tapped his powers, saved our ass, he healed you...so that's a win.", Dean says taking a swig of his beer.

"Yeah. I guess.", Sam mutters.

Dean furrows his eyes at his little brother. "What's up?"

Zen closes her book and looks at Sam as well. "What if you're right? About Mom. What if she is dead, and I'm just in denial?"

"Don't say that.", Dean says suddenly.

Zen looks at him weirdly. "What? You've been wanting us to admit that since it happened.", she states.

"I know I have...", he sighs. " But don't say that. I need you to keep the faith, for the three of us. 'Cause right now, I... Right now, I don't believe in a damn thing.", he finishes.