#simone gonzalez

“You know, some of these stars could be dead right now. I love how we can still see their light even after they’re gone.” Maisie finds herself sitting on the outcrop of roof outside of Harper’s room, one of her favorite memories playing out in her dreams once again.

Maisie hums in agreement. “I guess humans are kind of like stars too. Even after they’re gone, they don’t really leave us. We can still see them everywhere in our lives. The things they did for us.” Maisie’s eyes become misty as she speaks, thinking of her late foster mother, Laelynn. Harper is silent for a beat, then she suddenly gets up and climbs through the window back into her room. Maisie can hear her rummaging around until she reappears through the window.

“Well, this was supposed to be for your birthday, but Mom wasn’t supposed to die… So, I think you should have it now.” Harper hands Maisie a small, round, white box with a bright yellow bow on top. It almost looked like a daisy, Maisie’s favorite flower. Maisie tugs on the bow lightly and it falls away. When she opens the box, her breath catches.

It’s a simple gold, circular pendant made to look like a compass. She turns it over, already knowing the coordinates that are engraved there by heart. The coordinates to the Harvelle’s Roadhouse, or rather where it used to stand before it was blasted to ruins by demons.

Maisie has been waiting on this gift for years. Harper and Jo had gotten identical ones, passed down by their moms. And now Maisie has Laelynn’s. Picking the necklace from the box, she merely lets it set in her hand at first, trying to feel all the history it held. She swears, if only for a second, she could feel Laelynn with her.

Maisie hands the necklace to Harper and turns her back so her sister can secure it for her. Once it’s in place, Maisie knows she’ll never take it off.

“Thank you, Harp.” Maisie pulls her sister in for a hug and doesn’t let go. 

Maisie wakes with a start, confusion mixed with grogginess making her head pound. She slowly takes in her surroundings, wondering how she got to her old room in California. She doesn’t even remember falling asleep. The last thing she remembers is telling her dad where to find Momma Q.

Maisie tries to get to her feet, but has to lean on her bedpost for support. Her eyes are still heavy and her limbs feel burdensome. Suddenly, a man's loud, angry voice makes her flinch. It almost sounds like her dad, but she has never heard him raise his voice.

Making it to the door, she slowly pulls it open and shuffles down the hall towards the voices in the living room. She can now hear another, weaker voice, but there is a short bald-headed dude and a wiry woman with wild auburn hair, blocking her view.

“You’ll pay for what you took from me,” the first voice says, but this time it’s a quiet anger, his words coming out in a low growl.

“I’ll pay with my life if I have to. But you leave my daughters out of it.” Maisie realizes with a start, that the second voice is Momma Q. Her head throbs painfully as she tries to put the pieces together of what’s happening, but what Peter says next makes her heart stop.

“Maybe I could have left Harper out of it if she could have minded her own goddamn business! But I took care of her. I would have gotten rid of that little redhead too if it weren’t for that bitch of a witch I had to deal with. In the end, you are all that really stands in the way of an eternity with my daughter.” Maisie breaks from her shocked trance, when she realizes Momma Q is now gasping for breath. She reaches for her knife, but it isn’t there. All she can do is try to talk her father down.

Maisie rushes forward, breaking through the barrier of the two vampires. The sight of her only living mother fighting for her life at the hands of her father makes Maisie sick to her stomach.

“Dad, stop! Please,” Maisie begs, her voice cracking. She runs forward, trying to pry her father’s fingers away from around Momma Q’s neck. The two vampire lackeys suddenly seem to remember their job, and surge forward to restrain Maisie.

“I’m sorry, sweetheart, I didn’t mean for you to see this. In time, you will understand. And we will have more than enough time.” Peter turns back to Quincy, a sick smile playing on his lips as he tightens his grip. Quincy’s movements become less volatile, her strength giving out.

Maisie pulls and kicks against the vampires restraining her, but she has no leverage to pull free. She screams for her mother until her voice is hoarse, even after Quincy’s arms drop and her legs stop thrashing. Peter bares his fangs, and Maisie has to squeeze her eyes shut before he plunges them into Quincy’s neck, draining the last drops of life from her body.

Maisie hears Momma Q’s body thud to the ground, but it sounds far off. Her captors finally release their hold on her and she simply crumples to the floor. She doesn’t want to open her eyes. She doesn’t want to see her dead mother’s body that she knows is only inches away from her. Silent tears stream down her face. Only one thought ricochets in her mind until she loses all consciousness.

“It’s all my fault.”

As Philip sets the plane down without so much as a bump, Harper breathes a sigh of relief. “Hey, we didn’t die in a tragic, fiery plane crash. Not that I doubted you, Phillip, because apparently you can do everything,” she quips, trying to distract herself from the anxiety their current situation has caused.

“The less you know about me, the better.” Phillip returns coolly.

“Okay, that’s not ominous at all. Thanks for the ride, daa- dude. Da dude. It’s surfer talk, we’re in California now, gotta blend in.” Harper flimsily tries to recover from the fact that she almost called Philip dad. There’s an awkward silence before Simone pipes up.

“Um, evil vampire on the loose with your kidnapped sister ring a bell?” Everyone nods in agreement and starts to file out of the small plane. Harper brings up the rear, but before she starts down the steps, Phillip calls her name.

“Yeah?” Harper looks back at him expectantly. He stands up and puts a hand on her shoulder.

“Just be careful, kid. Call me when you’re ready to bring Maisie home,” Phillip says.

“You are always there when we call, huh?” Harper muses.

“Well, what can I say? You’d get yourself killed if I didn’t. As an officer of the law, I can’t have people dying on my watch if I can help it. Especially if it’s family.” Harper is surprised to hear Phillip say something so heartfelt, even if his face still portrays no emotion. “Alright, dismissed,” Phillip pats her shoulder and heads back to the cockpit. Taking a deep breath, Harper puts on a brave face.

“Sir, yes, sir.” She mocks a salute before heading after the rest of the group.

First things first, Harper needs to make sure they are on the right track. She pulls out her phone and tries Momma Q. No answer. Next, she calls the facility where Momma Q stays. When they tell her that Quincy has been checked out by a man claiming to be their uncle, Harper is oddly calm. It is close enough to the answer she was expecting.

“What did they say?” Sam asks as soon as she hangs up. She simply shakes her head.

“Uncle Peter took her for a trip,” Harper spits his name out like it leaves a bad taste in her mouth.

“Where would he take her?” Dean asks gruffly. Harper gives him a look that says ‘lose the attitude or I’ll kick your ass’.

“Oh yeah, I just forgot to mention the detailed notes on his plans I found in his diary.” Harper sasses back in annoyance. Sam steps between them, hands out to keep them at bay.

“Guys, now is not the time! We’re all worried about Maisie, but it’s not going to help her if we’re at each other’s throats.” Sam looks between them and makes sure they nod their agreement before he stands down.

“We can start at our family home. I don’t know that we’ll find anything but it’s a better place to think than this dirty airport parking lot at six in the morning. We need a ride, though.” As soon as Harper finishes her thought, Simone pulls up in a little red Ford Escort.

“Get in, losers,” Simone calls out through the open window. Sam and Dean eye the car skeptically.

“You couldn’t have stolen anything bigger?” Dean whines.

“It’s inconspicuous,” Simone shoots back. “And I thought it would be funny to see you and Sam trying to squeeze in the backseat,” she adds with a shrug. Dean rolls his eyes so hard he gives himself a headache. Sam turns to Harper, hoping she will save them from Simone’s pettiness.

“I call shotgun,” is all Harper says, opening the door and moving the seat up for the boys. “You wanna waste our time hotwiring another car?” Harper questions expectantly. The boys grumble assent to her point and fold themselves into the limited space of the backseat.

Sitting on her old bed, Maisie stares blankly at the wall; her thoughts and feelings ground to a halt when Momma Q’s body hit the carpet of her childhood home. The world around her faded away, feeling unreal and dream-like. At least, she hopes this is another dream, but the stirring in her gut tells her it’s all too real.

Peter pushes open the door, his posture more lighthearted than usual, unsympathetic to his daughter’s distress. The vampire watching over Maisie leaves the room at Peter’s command.

“Sorry you had to see that sweetheart. I thought my underlings would have kept a better eye on you,” Peter says, a slight edge to his voice, but it perks up as he continues. “Oh well, what’s done is done.” He pauses, gauging Maisie’s reaction, but she doesn’t even look at him.  “I hoped you would see this from my perspective, Maisie.”

“And what perspective is that?” Maisie means to come off spiteful, but the words fall flat and defeated.

Peter sits down next to Maisie, trying to catch her eye as he props his elbow on his knee and gestures with his other hand as he speaks. “She took you from me, all those years ago. And I’ve been looking for you every day since. Quincy, she would have done the same all again just to protect you from me, your own father.”

When Maisie doesn’t respond again, Peter sighs and runs a hand through his hair. “Everything I’ve done is because I didn’t want to lose you again.”

“What about Harper?” Maisie finds her anger again. He may be able to justify to himself why he did this to Quincy, but not her sister. Harper didn’t steal her away; they simply had each other’s backs throughout the years. “What did she do to deserve…” Her voice trails off, as does the anger, at the thought of what had become of her sister.

Peter sighs dramatically, as if her questions are nothing but a nuisance. “She would have stopped me too, sweetheart. She didn’t understand the vision.”

That piques Maisie’s interest, and her curiosity gets the best of her. “The vision?”

Peter’s eyes twinkle as he responds, “The vision that’s kept me going all these years. Eternity with my daughter.”

The sky is starting to lighten as Simone parks their little car around the corner from the house, out of direct view. Everyone hops out, and walks down the road to catch a glimpse of the house. A few vampires linger outside, keeping an eye on the street and surrounding homes for anything suspicious. The group takes a step back to stay out of sight while they figure out a plan.

“So, who has ideas?” Sam asks, glancing to his brother and the girls.

“Let’s walk in, guns blazing,” Dean offers, looking restless, but Harper immediately shakes her head. “Well, machetes blazing.”

“And draw a shit ton of attention to the house? No, we’ve gotta do this quietly.” Harper stares off into the distance, clenching and unclenching her fists as she thinks. “I’ll sneak in, and pull Maisie out.”

Sam shakes his head fervently. “You’re not going in alone.”

Harper frowns at him. “I know how to sneak into this house, I did it a million times growing up.”

“Yeah, but like Peter said earlier, your sneaking skills suck, Harp.” Simone responds honestly.

“Really? Now we’re bringing this up?” Harper throws her a frustrated glance. Simone shrugs as if to say ‘sure, why not.’

Dean looks to Harper, slightly confused. “Did he really say that?”

“Basically,” Simone says before Harper can get a word in.

“You gotta be fucking kidding me, we don’t have time for this,” Harper mumbles her thoughts out loud. “I’m going in, whether you like it or not. I made this mess, and I’m going to get my sister out of it.”

“You didn’t make anything, Peter did.” Sam interjects. “At least let someone go with you.”

“No, there’s more risk if anyone else goes. I’ve got this, okay?” Harper’s voice softens toward the end. “Just let me do this,” she says; there’s a pleading tone to her voice as she stares Sam down.

His shoulders slump. “Fine,” he sighs out.

“If something goes wrong, we’ll go with Dean’s idea, sound good?” Harper sounds matter-of-fact about it, as if ‘wrong’ couldn’t really be that bad. Dean and Simone nod, but Sam hesitates. Harper reciprocates the gesture before turning toward the house and her sister.

Sam’s hand wraps around hers when they are a few feet away from Dean and Simone. “For the record, I hate this,” he says with a half-hearted smile as she turns back to him.

Harper gives him a little smirk. “I know, but I’ll be back with Maisie soon enough.”

There’s a silence as Sam looks away for a moment, still holding her hand in his. Harper impatiently glances to the house, not wishing to wait another second.

“Relax, I’ll be back before you know it,” she says, giving him a forced smile.

“Just let her go already,” Simone talks a little louder so the couple can hear her. Harper cracks a smile in her direction before looking to Sam again.

“Don’t miss me too much while I’m gone,” she nudges him jokingly, slipping her hand out of his, and heads toward her childhood home to save her sister and fix this mess.

Harper peers around the corner to catch a glimpse of her old house; it is across the road and a few houses down from her vantage point. An idea pops into Harper’s head, and she cringes, knowing it’s the best way. Stripping off her jacket, she throws it back at Sam, standing by Dean and Simone now.

“What are you doing?” Dean asks in confusion as Sam catches it.

“I’m going jogging,” Harper shrugs before taking off down the street at a reasonable pace. She passes in front of her childhood home, feeling the gaze of the vampires keeping watch, but she keeps her eyes forward. There’s only two of them, one of them sitting on the steps of the front porch, the other sitting on the porch swing, trying to look casual.

Once she’s made it around the bend of the road to the neighbors house, she slows to a stop, hiding behind a row of tall bushes along the front yard. Rounding the neighbor’s house, Harper sneaks through their backyard and notices another vampire patrolling the back of her childhood home. She ducks behind another bush, watching as the vampire walks toward her and into the alley between the two houses.

Harper sees her opportunity, quickly and quietly walking up behind the vampire, machete in hand. She hefts the machete at his neck, slicing off his head. The body thumps softly as it hits the grass. She quickly grabs the body and head, dragging them behind the house to keep them out of sight.

Harper then crouches low as she softly pads over to the back of her childhood home and peeks into the window of Maisie old room. Maisie is on her bed and a short, Charlie Brown looking vampire, is at the door with his arms crossed over his chest. Harper takes a deep breath to steel herself, pulling her machete back out from its sheath before knocking softly on the window. She presses herself against the side of the house, waiting for the vampire to pop his head out. Her heart hammers in her chest, as the window slowly slides up and open.

The vampire’s bald head pops out of the window and Harper brings her machete down, cleanly severing his head from his body. She awkwardly hops through the window, shoving the body out of the way as she goes.

“Hey,” Harper says lamely as her feet hit the carpet. Maisie stares in disbelief at Harper standing before her, alive and well. She jumps to her feet, surprise giving way to her need to hug her sister and to know she hasn’t lost everything. As soon as she takes a step toward Harper, though, Maisie can smell her. The scent is so strong it overcomes all other emotions or senses. Maisie can feel the hunger building, and fear grips her heart.

Instead of welcoming Harper into her arms, she suddenly pushes her away. The force of Maisie’s shove surprises Harper almost more than the action itself, sending her across the room and crashing into the door. Grabbing onto the door handle to pull herself up, Harper tries to shake off the pain and confusion.

“Maisie? What the fuck was that?” Harper demands. Maisie looks at her shaking hands in shock.

“I- He turned me. Harp, I’m becoming a vampire,” Maisie chokes out, wrapping her arms around her torso. She can’t look at Harper, not wanting to see how her sister looks at her now.  

Harper holds her breath, waiting for something to give. She’s going to wake up any minute. Or Maisie is going to smile and say it’s only a joke. It can’t be real.

Without even realizing she’s taken it out, Harper is pressing her phone to her ear. It rings once before Sam’s voice rings out in her ear. It takes her a minute to find her voice.

“Sam?” She says quietly. She’s not even sure what to say.

“Harper, what is it? You ready for backup?” Sam asks desperately.

“Peter… H- he changed Maisie into a- a, um, and I don’t know what to do, tell me what to do,” Harper chokes out, eyes flying around the room.

“Has she drank human blood yet?” Sam asks, trying to keep himself level-headed for Harper’s sake.

Harper looks to her sister, relaying the question, and Maisie shakes her head. “No, she hasn’t,” Harper answers into the phone, unable to look away from Maisie.

“Okay, that’s good. She hasn’t fully transitioned then. Dean and I can make a cure, but we need the blood of the vampire who turned her, so Peter’s, right?”

“Yeah,” Harper breathes out.

“We’re coming, hold tight. Tell Maisie it’s going to be okay. It is going to be okay, Harper,” Sam’s calm voice evens her breathing. She believes him.

“Okay. It’s going to be okay, Maisie,” Harper repeats, trying to keep Sam’s calm in her own voice as she tries to help Maisie believe it too.

Maisie finally looks up to meet her sisters earnest gaze. In a split second, Harper’s head is turned at an odd angle, and there is a strange crunching sound. Time seems to slow as Maisie watches Harper’s body fall lifelessly to the ground.

“Sometimes, you have to do things yourself,” Peter’s voice cuts through Maisie’s haze. Suddenly, time speeds up to the point that Maisie no longer registers her actions. She is consumed by a blind rage, and she cannot be stopped.

When the world comes back into focus, she is standing in the living room, over her decapitated father, blood on her hands. She looks up at sound of Sam, Dean, and Simone bursting through the front door.

Sam yells Harper’s name as he runs through the house, while Dean heads straight to Maisie. Simone lingers over Peter’s body for a moment, nodding grimly, before following after Sam.

Stopping abruptly in the doorway to Maisie’s old room, Sam’s eyes immediately falling to Harper, crumpled and broken on the ground. Simone brings a hand up to cover her mouth as she gasps in horror. She had seen so much death, but this… This was something she was not expecting.

“Harper?” Sam’s voice barely comes out above a whisper. “Harper, please don’t do this to me,” he breathes out, as he falls to his knees beside her and rolls Harper onto her back. He pushes the hair gently away from her face, hoping and praying to see some sign of life in her. The sinking feeling in his gut tells him there isn’t any hope.

Harper’s eyes are open, but the empty, lifeless stare strips away any shred of denial and false hope that Sam was holding onto. Tears fill his eyes as he pulls Harper into his arms, cradling her limp form close to himself. She feels heavier than usual, the weight of the situation slowly crushing down on him.

He stares down at her through his tears, realizing there won’t be a tomorrow with her. He won’t hold her in his arms, or feel the warmth of her touch again. She won’t be beside him when he wakes up every morning. There will be a constant empty space where she used to be, that no one else could ever fill. Sam lets out one sob after another as he clings to Harper, wishing he could talk to her one more time, to hear her voice wash over him.

Dean finds Maisie in the hallway staring blankly down at Peter’s severed head. He takes her face in his hands and tries to draw her attention.

“Maisie? Baby, are you okay?” Maisie sees the movement of Dean’s lips, but no words connect with her mind. The sound of blood rushing in her ears is deafening. Not her blood, though. Dean’s blood. The machete she hadn’t even realized she was holding clatters to the floor as she pushes away from Dean. She must have grabbed the machete Harper brought in with her to go after Peter.

Harper; Maisie’s stomach lurches as she remembers the last sight of her sister. Stumbling down the hallway, she can now here Sam’s cries. Seeing Sam crumpled on the floor, cradling her sister’s body to him like she is the only thing he can feel, stops Maisie at the door like an iron fist had clamped down on her feet. The tears come faster than her breathing. She wants to go to them, to hold onto Harper. She wants to go back in time, tell Harper she is right and never let Peter back into her life.

The soft glow of Harper’s lamp spills out onto the small outcrop of roof Maisie and Harper are perched on. The stars are shining brighter by the minute as dusk settles into the night. Taking a sip of her Triple Black Smirnoff, Maisie rests her head on her big sister’s shoulder.

“You can say them out loud if you want,” Maisie says, knowing her sister is going over all of the constellations in her head. It’s her favorite hobby.

“Well, you ought to know them all by now,” Harper comments, sipping on her own drink.

“That’s the Big Dipper, right?” Maisie points to the obviously smaller dipper, a mischievous glint in her eyes as she looks up at her sister. Harper sighs heavily, shaking her head.

“Hilarious.” Harper puts the cool glass to her lips again, savoring her drink and the view. “You know, some of these stars could be dead right now. I love how we can still see their light even after they’re gone.”

Harper turns to Maisie who lifts her head so they’re facing each other. “I’m sorry, Maisie. But you’ll still see me,” Harper says softly.  

“Wh-what are you talking about?” Maisie’s face scrunches up in confusion, not understand the turn this conversation has taken. Harper puts a hand on Maisie’s shoulder, looking at her intensely.

“I’ll still be here with you. Always.”

Harper begins to slip away from Maisie’s focus even as she tries to hold on to her. To ask her what she means. Suddenly, the glow of Harper’s lamp is replaced by the hallway light spilling into Maisie room. The roof is replaced by Maisie’s bed, and Harper is replaced by her father shaking her shoulders to wake her.

“Maisie you’ve got to get up,” Peter says urgently. Maisie wipes her bleary eyes, blinking up at her dad, still confused by her dream. It was one of her favorite memories with Harper, when they had finally moved into the Safehouse and made it feel like home. It definitely hadn’t ended like that.  She didn’t have time to find the answer, though, with her dad trying to get her up.

“What’s going on, dad? Are you okay?” Maisie asks, sitting up and trying to get her bearings.

“We have to leave the city. Vampires have Harper and I’m sure they’ll come for you next,” Peter only half explains, tossing a pair of shoes at Maisie’s feet before grabbing her hand and trying to pull her up from her bed.

“What the fuck does that mean?” Maisie questions, her groggy brain trying to make sense of the situation. She hastily slips the shoes on then follows after Peter who is still tugging on her hand.

“There’s no time to explain we have to hurry if we want to make it out alive,” Peter urges as they hurry down the stairs and out the back door towards Peter’s van. The same one as the VonVamp’s but they didn’t need it now that they were dead so Peter put it to use.

“If some vampires have Harper, we have to go get her back,” Maisie says as Peter opens the passenger side of the van, making sure she gets in before shutting it firmly. He jumps in the driver side, the van already running, and immediately starts to pull out of the dirt driveway.

“Do you know where Harper is? We’re going to find her, right?” Maisie presses, her mind waking up now.

“We can’t go back, we have to stay ahead of them. We should go to your mother, once the other vampires find you’re not here they’ll use Harper to get to her next.” Peter pulls out onto the road and floors it.

“Why do they have Harper!? How did they get to her!? Dad!” Maisie keeps questioning Peter, still trying to make some sense of all this, but Peter shakes his head.

“It doesn’t matter, we just have to focus on getting to Quincy. Where is she, Maisie?” Peter asks urgently. Maisie runs a shaky hand through her hair; Maisie and Harper had always kept Momma Q’s location a secret. Hunters made a lot of enemies, and they couldn’t take any chances. But she had no choice. Her whole family could be in danger.

“She’s in San Francisco.”

Two Hours Earlier

It’s the dead of night, but Las Vegas is still awake, as Harper and Simone traverse the streets. Harper had waited until Maisie was sound asleep in bed before sneaking out to meet with Simone. This is the fifth night of stalking Peter since returning home from Texas. The ambience of the city offsets the silence between the girls. The neon lights of the strip club glare against the dark street, uninteresting people entering the building.

Harper lets out an exasperated sigh, feeling impatient about the lack of evidence since she’s gotten back. Peter always seemed to do the same thing every night. He’d come to ‘Hunk O’Mania’ for a few hours before going back to the Safehouse. It is suspicious, but it isn’t concrete evidence that he’s doing something wrong. And they couldn’t exactly just stroll into the club looking for evidence. Or at least, Harper couldn’t.

“Why don’t you just go in there and see what he’s up to?” Harper asks, glancing over to Simone, who rolls her eyes as if the answer is obvious. “Peter’s the only one that would know you, right?”

She shakes her head slightly. “Most of his old crew know me.”

“How?”

Simone’s expression grows deadly serious, guilt flashing across her features briefly. “Used to be a part of their little group, back when I was a newbie vampire that didn’t know any better. Not my proudest moment.” Harper isn’t surprised by this revelation, but it still makes her feel uneasy. “I’m doing my best to make up for it now.”

Harper nods, unsure of what to say. “We all fuck up sometimes.”

“Mmm,” is all Harper gets as a response. Simone straightens up suddenly, eyes glued to the club. “Movement out back,” she whispers before quietly taking toward the alley.

Harper follows behind, trying to catch a glimpse around Simone. She gently nudges Harper back, as she peers around the corner of the neighboring building, watching the alley. Simone looks back to Harper, mouthing ‘Peter’ before turning back to watch him. The anticipation starts to build in Harper, hoping and praying for this to be something big. After a long minute, Simone motions to follow. They quietly walk down the alley, avoiding discarded trash and litter on the cement.

Harper catches a last second glance of Peter as he enters a small abandoned building behind the club, and she wants nothing more than to keep following. Simone, however, holds her back for a few minutes, quietly watching the building for any further movement.

Finally, they make their way to the door, easing it open quietly and checking to make sure no one is around. The door leads them into what used to be an old storage room; now it’s simply filled with litter and empty wooden boxes. The girls set off, exploring the building to figure out where Peter had gone inside.

A faint creaking noise echoes through the building. They follow it as best they can figure, weaving in between rows of the shelves and boxes. Finally making it through the maze to the back of the building, they find a shelf pushed out of the way to reveal a low doorway in the wall.

Simone peeks in the doorway first, making sure no one is right inside, and she finds an empty hallway leading straight towards a rusty staircase going up.

“You stay put. I’ll go up first and check it out,” Simone commands, holding up a hand to silence Harper’s resistance. Harper rolls her eyes as Simone advances without waiting for Harper to agree. Harper leans against the opposite wall as the shelf, peeking around the corner to watch Simone’s careful progress.

Simone’s upper half disappears up the stairs, where she stalls for a beat. Harper sees Simone’s head pop back down and she quickly motions for Harper to come her way. Harper is down the hallway and right behind Simone in a matter of seconds. She is ready to be rid of Peter.

Simone makes room for Harper to to see what she’s seeing. As soon as Harper’s eyes adjust to the low lighting, her stomach twists in disgust. It looks like a communal feeding spot for vampires. Cages, only tall enough for someone to sit up in, line the room. Locked in the cages like animals are dozens of people. Some of them look as if they are dying as Harper and Simone process the scene they have plunged themselves into, but others are only halfway dead, there’s still hope for them.

At the far end of the room, Peter sits in a lofty armchair with his fangs buried into the wrist of a young man. Simone has to hold Harper back from jumping the gun and charging Peter right then and there; they need a plan. Peter takes his time draining the young man. When he’s finished, one of the hunks from ‘Hunk ‘O’ Mania’ drags the barely breathing body back in to one of the cages.

“Harper, dear, you can come out now. No more hiding. For either of us.” Peter’s voice rings out loud and clear. He licks a stray drop of blood from the pad of his thumb, waiting for Harper to show herself.

“Fuck it.” Harper sets her jaw and before Simone can do anything to stop her, she ascends the remaining steps of the staircase to face Peter. “It’s over, Peter.” Harper stares him down, machete in hand.

Peter smirks, relaxing back into his chair further. “Oh, it’s not over yet. At least, not for me. Can’t say the same for you, though… No one else came along with you? No Maisie, or Sam, or even Dean?”

Simone lets out a heavy sigh, before finally climbing the remaining steps. “She’s not alone.”

Genuine surprise crosses Peter’s feature as he makes eye contact with her. “Simone? It’s been quite some time, hasn’t it?”

“Too long. I’ve been itching to see your head detached from your body. But I’ve had a difficult time finding you these last few years. You finally made a mistake by finding your kid, so here we are. Quite sloppy of you, Peter.” Simone stands beside Harper, tension coursing through her.

“Was it sloppy? Or did it serve a purpose? You were always the smartest of your siblings, Simone, you should know better. I‘ve always had a plan,” Peter replies with a glint in his eyes. He stands abruptly, causing both girls to tighten their grip on their weapons. “As much as I would love to keep chatting, I’ve got a daughter to corrupt and a plan to see through. But don’t worry, I brought some friends to keep you company.”

A few vampires come out of a back room, some dress casually while others are workers from ‘Hunk-O-Mania.’ Another handful of vampires come up the stairs where Harper and Simone had entered, effectively surrounding the girls.

“Take care of these two for me, will you?” Peter says, strolling through his vampires and patting one on the shoulder as he makes his way to the stairs. “I would say work on your stealth next time, Harper, but there won’t be a next time.” He gives them a lazy wave as he descends the steps.

Harper’s hand tightens around her machete, her free hand tightening into a fist. “We’re completely fucked,” Harper grounds out. The group of vampires stay in their positions, fangs bared and ready for the girls to try to make a move. “This was a bad idea.”

“This was your fucking idea!” Simone chides back. She then grabs Harper’s shoulder and nods to the large window on their right. “We have a chance of being slightly less fucked if we don’t stick around.” Only two vampires stand in the way of their exit route.

“That fall is going to suck,” Harper mumbles, eyes scanning the room.

The girls make eye contact for a split second before sprinting toward the window. Simone barrels into the one of the right, shoving him out of the way, while Harper ducks, avoiding being grabbed by the one on the left, only tripping up slightly. Simone covers her head as she dives out the window, landing on the ground with a graceful roll. Harper jumps out after her; one of the vampire’s hands snag her pant leg, causing her to fall awkwardly. She lands on her side with a grunt of pain, scraping her arm on the concrete as she rolls.

Simone pulls Harper to her feet, tugging on her. “C’mon, you’re fine,” she says, pulling Harper down the alley until Harper gains her footing. Her arm burns, as they sprint away with vampires close behind. Somehow they would have to make it back to Harper’s truck without the parade of vampires chasing them, and if the stinging in her arm is any indication, they aren’t off to the best start.

“We can’t go back to your truck. They’ll be on us any second, we have to lose them,” Simone explains, checking their surroundings.

“Exactly, and my truck is closer,” Harper argues, taking a minute to see how bad her arm is; it’s bleeding but nothing that can’t be fixed.

“Yes, because you parked across the fucking street at a gas station! They’ll be waiting for us.” Simone is exasperated. Taking charge again, she dashes across the street, heading back to where she had left her car before meeting up with Harper.

“I’m sorry,” Harper whispers mournfully in the direction of her truck before she sprints after Simone as fast as she can with a limp. They only get one street down when a vamp tackles Harper. She kicks him off and rolls to her feet, slashing her machete at him.

He jumps back and dodges Harper’s advance, only to meet Simone’s blade. One quick whack and Simone is taking off again, not waiting to see the vampire and his head fall to the ground.

“Thanks,” Harper mumbles, limping after Simone again. They run down several more streets, Harper beginning to run out of breath, when Simone finally turns down another alley. Barely lit up by a street lamp, is a small electric blue car. Harper recognizes it as 2002 Toyota Echo.

“You have.. The Blueberry!?” Harper exclaimed, referring to the name of Burton  Guster’s car in the TV show Psych. Simone smirks slightly, acknowledging the comment, but simply telling Harper to get in. They ease out of the alleyway, making sure they don’t have any more oncoming vamps, then Simone shoots down the road towards the Safehouse.

Harper pulls out her phone, calling Sam the first chance she gets. It rings twice before he answers. “Hey, Harp.”

“Hey, so, um… I might have gotten myself into trouble,” Harper says sheepishly, glancing at Simone, who rolls her eyes.

Sam sighs. “Can’t say I’m surprised. What happened?”

“Peter found out, and he’s going after Maisie,” Harper confesses.

“And how did Peter find out?” Sam presses.

“I kind of, sort of, followed him into a shady warehouse where he was waiting to ambush me,” Harper let out a heavy breath, knowing that isn’t going to make Sam any happier.

“We’re two hours out, Dean says we’ll be there in an hour,” Sam states.

“Sam…” Harper wants to apologize for not telling Sam beforehand what she was going into. To be fair, she didn’t know tonight would be the night shit hit the fan with Peter.

“Harper, stop.” Sam doesn’t let her get it out. “At least you’re not dead,” he relents slightly.

“I guess that’s one thing that didn’t go Peter’s way,” Harper admits. She doesn’t want to think about if she hadn’t made it out and couldn’t get to Maisie.

“Dean wants to talk to you,” Sam warns before he’s cut off. Harper sucks in a breath, ready for more beratement by Dean.

“Status on Maisie?” Dean asks tensely, and Harper lets herself breathe slightly. That wasn’t as bad as she was expecting, but she is sure she hasn’t made it through the worst of it.

“I- I don’t know yet. We’re getting close to the Safehouse, but-“ Harper answers tentatively.

“But what?” Dean cuts her off aggressively.

“But Peter had almost an hour head start on us,” she confesses, squeezing her eyes shut against the possibilities of what could be happening to Maisie.

“What the hell were you thinking, Harper!? You just left her alone so you could go galivanting after Peter with your new gal pal when you suspected Peter was up to no good? You should have kept us in the loop!” The levee has broken and Dean isn’t going to let Harper get off easy. Not that she is going easy on herself. Harper is silent, not knowing how to answer. She doesn’t have any good excuses.

“Son of a bitch.” Dean grumbles, handing the phone back to Sam.

“Just… Call me when you get back to the Safehouse, okay?” Sam makes Harper promise before hanging up. Harper looks over to Simone, wondering how much of that she had heard.

“Don’t look at me, I’m just here for revenge, not emotional support,” Simone deadpanned. Sighing to herself, Harper looks out of the window to notice they were closing in on the safehouse. The dirt road seems to stretch on for miles as anxiety courses through her.

As soon as Simone gets close enough to the house, Harper opens the door and jumps out. She runs to the front door, not needing to bother with her key because the door is already ajar. The sound of Neptune and Gandalf barking is muffled by the closed door of the infirmary. She rushes to let them out, Gandalf darting up the stairs towards Maisie’s room as soon as Harper opens the door.

She spots the back door open as well and she runs up the stairs. “Maisie!” She yells desperately, bursting into Maisie’s room and fumbling for the light. Her breath catches in her throat and tears start to well in her eyes. Maisie is nowhere to be seen.

Harper’s heart starts to race as her breathing grows more shallow. “Maisie, she’s— she's gone, fuck,” she sputters, her voice shaking. Her gaze falls to Simone beside her; in a small, desperate voice, she asks, “What do I do?”

Simone’s face softens, putting her hand on Harper’s shoulder. “Take a deep breath, we’ll find her, okay?”

Harper’s eyes sting with unshed tears. Running her fingers through her hair, she looks around the empty house, searching for any kind of clue. Simone sees the panic in her eyes and knows she will have to talk her through this.

“Now that he has Maisie, and he thinks you’re out of the way, is there anyone else he might go after?” Simone asks calmly. Harper wills herself to calm her breathing and think.

“Piper,” she breaths, pulling out her phone and finding Piper’s number with shaky hands. She only gets voicemail but she immediately hangs up and calls again. It rings again and again. Harper holds her breath, afraid she won’t get through and what that will mean. At the last minute, the line picks up.

“Harper, it’s four in the morning, if someone isn’t dying, I’m going to kill you,” Piper croaks out. Harper huffs out a breath of slight relief but her stomach is still in knots.

“Don’t jinx it, Piper. Peter has Maisie. I was right about him, and I wish I could have been wrong this one fucking time,” Harper grits out.

“Shit, Harper. What can I do? I don’t know how I can help, but whatever you need you’ve got me,” Piper reassures, her voice still tired but determined.

“No, it’s okay, I’m going to fix this. I just needed to make sure you’re okay. I’m going to send someone over to make sure it stays that way,” Harper replies, trying to reassure her.

“Cas?” Piper asks about their friend they usually assign as Piper’s guardian angel.

“No, I’m going to have to call someone closer. Someone who probably doesn’t want to hear from me.” Harper clenches her jaw, knowing who she needs to call.

Harper hangs up the phone and searches through her contact for the number she needs to call next. Her thumb hovers over the name; it’s been so long she doesn’t even know if he’ll pick up. But she has to try for Piper’s sake. As the line rings, she takes a deep breath.

“Hello?” The man’s voice is slightly groggy. Harper finds herself at a loss for words momentarily. She hadn’t expected her heart to skip a beat. Old feelings die hard, she guesses. “Harper, is that you?” The voice sounds more stern this time.

“Yeah, Danny, it’s me.” Harper finally replies.

“Are you drunk calling me?” Danny asks. Harper huffs put a short laugh but no one is amused.

“No. I don’t have time to explain but I need a favor. It's really important,” Harper says. Now it’s Danny’s turn to laugh humorlessly.

“Oh, so now you have time to call me, when you need something. It’s been over a year, Harper,” Danny returns harshly. Harper sighs, she knows it sucks but she couldn’t think of anyone else she’d trust with Piper.

“I know, Danny, I know you don’t owe me anything but i wouldn’t call if I had another choice. It’s life or death,” Harper is pleading now.

“What? None of your other backups picked up?” Danny scoffs. Even though he has every right to be angry with her, Harper is almost starting to get impatient. What doesn’t he understand about life or death?

“Actually, you were the first person I thought of. Please, Danny, I’m calling because I trust you with this. I’ll make it up to you when I get back and everyone’s safe. I’ll make up for everything.” Danny is silent for a moment, hearing the desperation in Harper’s voice breaks through his anger. He could’ve sworn she was holding back tears.

“What do you need?” Danny concedes. Harper’s eyes squeeze shut in relief.

“My friend Piper Evans. I need you to keep her safe. I’ll text you the address,” Harper explains.

“Okay.” Harper almost hangs up, but she gets the urge to say one last thing.

“Thank you, Danny. And I- I am sorry,” Harper doesn’t know how to convey everything she means with the simple statement, but it’ll have to do.

“Yeah, well, just make it back in one piece so you can make it up to me.” Harper manages a small smile; she can almost hear the old Danny, the one she knew before everything got so complicated. He hangs up before she can promise anything.

Simone raises an eyebrow. “Well, he gave you a hard time, didn’t he?” Harper lets out a sigh, but doesn’t respond.

“Now, is there anyone else Peter might go after?”

Harper stays silent for another beat, letting her thoughts ramble off anyone important in their lives until there’s only one possibility left. “Momma Q, but she’s in Cali…”

“Momma Q? As in your foster mom? She’s  is still alive!?”

“One of them, yeah?”