but oh what a year

[patrols]

Comments

[mayoralty]

[Carol nods, understanding, with a small smile.]

For what it's worth, I think you're doing very well.

[redeems]

You're being kind.

( Even if she isn't, Angel doesn't take compliments. Or fashion advice.

Though Cordelia did introduce him to a nice oversized chunky sweater for relaxing. And house shoes. )

[mayoralty]

[Look, he's doing his best. It's fine.]

Anyway. I should go check on the food. Please feel free to help yourselves, but I'll leave you two to it.

["Thanks, Carol," Sam nods. As the other woman peels off to maintain her job as hostess, Sam glances to Angel. "Do you think Cordy's found - " His voice trails off as he catches sight of Dickerson wandering their way. "Never mind."]

[redeems]

Never mind?

( Dickerson has been mingling and biding his time, but he's also kept one eye on Sam most of the night. He has questions, questions Dean would probably bring back to Ben. And since his BFF faux pas, he now has other things on his mind. Though, he really should fix that.

"Hi," Dickerson says to Angel, who nods to him. "Dickerson. Ben's friend. Dean's son," he explains. )

Angel.

( "And you're Sam," he says, looking at Dean's brother, who looks just like his picture. Maybe more of a receding hairline. He doesn't say that. )

[imnot_likeyou]

That's me.

[Sam shifts, taking a sip of his beer before raising an eyebrow. He can tell that there's something Dickerson wants, but he's not quite sure what it is yet.]

Enjoying the party?

[camber]

Yeah, it's clutch. Lot of people. Not usually Ben's scene. ( And not why he's here. Angel also gets the hint, moving from one foot to the other.

"I should find Cordelia. Let her know I gave my business card out," he says, the lame excuse settling before he leaves them together. ) Does he have a business card minder?

[imnot_likeyou]

He has a partner who believes he's terrible at being social. You met her earlier, at the B&B?

[Sam shifts back and turns to face Dickerson more as Angel goes.]

This isn't usually our scene either, but Elena's friends were nice enough to host.

[camber]

Cordelia. Chase. Pretty.

( Also, feels like she doesn't take shit. )

Plus all the crazy. Speaking of, um, I was there, when Dean sort of crashlanded back in Ben's life. Saw the angel. Did some extra research beforehand because everything had been full-on erased. Just. You guys were hunters that entire time?

[imnot_likeyou]

[Sam nods.]

Yeah. We've been doing it our whole lives, pretty much. How much on us did you actually find?

[camber]

More than you'd probably like out there, but I covered my tracks. One redacted report from homeland security. A rap sheet that reads like a travel itinerary. Thing is, after Ben got pulled back into all this, Elena and I got to talking. And then I did some of my own research. Alright, a lot. What's it take to get into hunting, anyway? For people not raised off it.

( He feels like he's coming off strong, but, how else can he broach the subject. He gives a quick glance behind Sam. No sign of Ben. OK. )

[imnot_likeyou]

[Well, that sure is a question. And Sam isn't sure how to answer it.]

Why do you want to be?

[It doesn't say it with judgement. But how he answers is definitely going to influence how Sam responds.]

[camber]

I'm a detective. Worked my way up the food chain, but it's never... done it for me. I help, but inside the lines of broken jurisdiction. Hunters help people. For real. From things that shouldn't be real.

( And yeah, maybe there are some missing pieces to him. )

[imnot_likeyou]

So what, you think hunting will be better?

[Again, he's not saying it to be mean. But hunting is loaded and complicated.]

It's not all that different from police work. You're building a case, solving the puzzle, you're just looking for different things. Clues that tell you what kind of creature you might be dealing with. But just like actual police work it's not as simple as find the monster and kill it. And if you actually get good, that could open you up to being dragged into way more complicated things. It's not just a job. It can turn into your life.

[camber]

You're talking to me like I have one to lose. Outside of Ben and my dad, and Ben's family, I have a paycheck. Also, my buddy's like a foot away from being dragged into way more complicated. I'm not asking you to give me a crash course, just -- where would I start - if I wanted to.

( He reads the warning loud and clear. )

[imnot_likeyou]

[Sam would love to say that Ben isn't going to get dragged into things if he doesn't want to, but he's a Winchester now. That's no longer a non-zero possibility. So he sighs.]

So seventy five percent of the time, you're going to be dealing with a restless spirit of some kind. You'll want to start with the body. A pattern of bodies, all killed in the same strange way - and the type of strange is going to link out to the type of spirit you're dealing with. For example, women in white act like hitchhikers, getting someone to give her a ride home. Downside is she's dead. She can't actually go home. And once she sees that the house is different or abandoned, or not as she expected it to be, she'll lash out and kill the victim. Once you figure out the pattern, you can use that to go back through violent deaths in the area and see if there's someone that fits the profile, either in the way they died or based on the people being targeted.

[He pauses as he lets that sink in.]

So with our woman in white example, women in white are usually women who were betrayed by their spouses, snap and kill their children before killing themselves. Once you have a name, you can find where they're buried and then you have to salt and burn the corpse.

[camber]

( So, this is - real shop talk, then. He - listens to each piece. Most landing well. A string of dead bodies. Restless spirit. Patterns.

Though he asked for not-a-crash-course. Maybe he's making a point? )

Salt and burn. And that blows a restless spirit up in smoke?

[imnot_likeyou]

Salt is a spirit deterrent. Burning the corpse ... I'm not sure exactly how it works, but it combined with the salt puts the spirit to rest.

[Even if he asked for not a crash course, he wants Dickerson to understand what would be expected if he declares himself a hunter.]

[camber]

I'll remember that...

<( And do more reading. )

Look, Ben told me how deep you and Dean go and obviously, your world is bad enough Dean erased himself from Ben's life. But, I'm not your brother.

[imnot_likeyou]

I didn't say you were.

[And that rubs him slightly the wrong way, and he straightens some, using every advantage of his moose-ness to make it clear that he's swinging this into a conversation that Sam isn't going to give him a lot of leeway on.]

What exactly do you think that means, being my brother?

[camber]

( Oh, he's tall tall. He doesn't get intimidated. But, he might be losing on the mentor track here. He's gotta be true to himself and true to Dean. )

He left Ben. He was with him for like a year and he left. And he didn't just leave, he erased every trace of himself. Except, the parts that he had me trace back from nothing. I know it sounds like I'm passing judgment, but I care about Ben, amd I want him and Ben to have a relationship. I think this is a great damn thing. I also know it's not my place, so I'm just saying. I know hunting comes with extremes. But... it can't always mean making the hardest choice imaginable, which, I acknowledge.

[imnot_likeyou]

All due respect, you know what Ben's told you. You won't actually know what this job is until you're doing it.

[It's one thing to hear about it from other people, another to actually have the gun in your hands doing the job.]

And you're right. You probably won't have to make the decisions that Dean and I have made. In fact, I hope not because we've had pretty much nothing but shitty choices. But you came to me, looking for information about how to do this job - a job that gets people killed more often than not - and now you're trying to tell me what you think you know about my brother so I gotta ask - what exactly are you looking for here?

[camber]

( Point, but, it doesn't feel respectful. He thinks he crossed the line first and he's ready to own it when he braces himself for whatever else Sam has next.

He's just living with his damn foot in his mouth. He's not crashing this relationship, too. )

I didn't - look, bringing up Dean wasn't even my intention. I don't even know how I got here. Real talk, I don't know your brother or about your brother. And, equal respect, reading about him doesn't tell me shit. Everything he's shown since has been pretty damn decent. I didn't come to you to talk about Ben's dad, I... I wanted to hear about it from the horse's mouth. Hear for myself that everything I've read about, what you and Dean and other hunters fight for -- I'm not trying to put it down or boil it down, because obviously, I can't. It's brutal, right? It's a choice and it changes your life. Or, in your case, it is your life. And I can't know what that's like. I'm not going to pretend I do and I'm sorry I even tried to say otherwise. I'm really batting zero at being a person this week, so I hope we can just chalk this up to, me wanting something real. Information. Your take. And, me protecting Ben sort of snuck in there in a real asshole way. So, for that, I'm sorry. I love him and I'm pretty damn mixed up about - ( His mouth gapes a bit, lower lip dropping. He closes his eyes. ) Anyway, just. Sorry, dude.

[imnot_likeyou]

[Sam relents some as a stream of information comes at him. It's a tricky thing, trying to come in the middle, and he's not unsympathetic to that. And whatever complicated feelings there ... well, Sam's not going to speak on that. Not his business.]

My take is that wanting to protect Ben is admirable, but that's not what you asked me for. That's a whole other conversation.

[And less complicated than it used to be.]

And yeah, it can be brutal. And I wasn't trying to imply that you couldn't hack it. There are plenty of other law enforcement folks that moonlight as hunters - or hunting is part of the ask. My only concern is that if you're going down this rabbit hole that this is a road you really want to take. Because once you're in, you can't really escape it. Trust me, I've tried.

[camber]

Think I need an it.

( Road, rabbit hole, good intentions, Hell. All of it. )

[imnot_likeyou]

[All of it is the most accurate option, honestly.]

And you're sure this is the it you want?