10. A Girl and a Gun

"What are you snooping around for?"

Dean's voice from the kitchen catches me in my tracks. It's been about a week since we settled into the bunker. Dean's taken position as the chef in the kitchen when Sam and I aren't in there. Nobody objects; his cooking doesn't come to life and try to consume us.

During the week, I was taken clothes shopping (finally). So now, I look less homeless, but I look like a bum. Most of my clothes are loose on me (blame my skeletal body for that one), and I have few tight-fitting outfits. The boys insisted I buy a "costume," and by that I mean like a pantsuit or something nice (for cases purpose only, of course) in case I got roped into one and had no choice in the matter.

I stop at the doorway. "Why are you in here? Taking inventory?"

"Did you already beat me to it?"

"No. I can't reach some of the shelves." I frown slightly. "And I'm beginning to think your brother is living in the library. I don't think he goes to his room at all, or the bathroom. You don't help by bringing food to him either."

"Don't worry, he'll venture out sometime."

"You sure? This place has a lot of supernatural history documented in books and papers and whatever else. He could be there until his hair turns white or grows down to his feet."

"Seriously, Maxipad, where are you heading?"

I blow air out through my nose. "What did I say about the nickname?"

"And what have I said in response to that?" he retorts smartly.

"At least Sam is merciful and doesn't say it." I cross my arms. "As for your previous question, I'm back to exploring."

"No, you're hunting for something. You look like you're on a mission."

"Do you need to know about it?"

"Not really."

"Problem solved."

Though I don't have a map (this bunker seriously needs one), I have been tracing and retracing my steps to the room I want to go in for the past week. It's the one place I know I can utilize, and it's the one place the Winchesters don't know about. I'll let them discover it on their own time. I didn't have enough time to see what the room had in it on my initial investigation inside. That is what today is for.

Even with memory, I still screw up, but it's an easy fix. Soon enough, I find the room and slip in, keeping the door closing silent once I'm through. I flick on the light, exposing the shooting range. I grin.

I take my slow time and examine. There are three targets at the far side of the room, all paper with outlines of body shapes. Naturally, no guns are on the tables for me to unload. I don't know anything about guns anyway. Why would I think to try my luck with something I don't have any knowledge about? Shit. If I want to try this out, that means I gotta borrow a gun from one of the brothers. And I have to do my research. I huff. I didn't think this through very well. I know they've got guns. Maybe I can sneak a few down here and read up...

I know exactly where to look, too.

Now with a new mission in mind, I exit the shooting range and retrace my steps back past the kitchen, where Dean no longer is. My stomach rumbles. I should eat something soon.

My mental map leads me to his room. I snort. I'd only seen this room in passing a few times, and now that I can see it properly for the first time, it screams him. He's got some weapons hanging on the walls. I step into the room and notice a bag on the floor. Maybe it's not empty.

I kneel down and begin to rummage through. I need to borrow something that obviously won't be missed for a few days or so. Finding one would be a blessing, finding three unused weapons would be a miracle. I bite lightly on my tongue as I search.

I sit back on my knees and snort derisively. He's moved his inventory. I rise from my position and begin to lightly search the room. I search the surface of everything before I begin to dig. I gently feel under the pillow to, surprisingly, find nothing. I even try in between the mattresses. Still nothing. Son of a bitch. Either there aren't any in here, or he's becoming a good stasher.

I decide to look at the next logical place: under the bed. I have my body at an odd angle as I try to identify any gun shapes.

"Looking for something?"

I pull my head up so fast that I forget to move away from the bed frame. I howl as my forehead hits the metal rimming. I sit on my legs, rubbing my forehead, to encounter a rather skeptical, guarded Dean Winchester. He's leaning against the doorway, arms crossed.

"I...I-"

"Maxipad, the first thing about lying is that it's gotta be smooth and plausible. That wasn't either."

"Thank you, Captain Smartass." I whimper low as my forehead throbs. "At least let me get the lie out before you say that."

"I'm gonna ask you again. What are you doing in my room?"

"Searching."

"For what?"

I sigh through my nose. "A few guns."

He tisks and shakes his head. "Maxipad, I thought you were better than this? And here I thought we were all getting along just fine-"

"I was going to borrow them, idiot," I snap. "I wasn't going to run away with them or hotwire the car and drive off. And I wasn't about to try and take over the bunker singlehandedly."

"Oh, really? How am I supposed to believe that?"

A smirk touches my lips. "I'll show you."

With my head dully aching now, I squeeze past Dean and gesture for him to follow. Using my mental map, I make all the necessary turns. But as I'm passing the library, Dean catches my arm and stops me.

"Sammy!" Dean shouts, almost startling poor Sam from his reading. He looks a little annoyed at his older brother.

"What do you think she did now?" Sam complains.

"She's been digging where she shouldn't be."

"I'm telling you it's for a good reason, not to pawn off your guns! And I wasn't going to try to kill either of you!" I protest, giving Sam a pleading look. "I found something that I wanted to keep to myself until you two found it on your own, but unfortunately I have no choice but to show you now." I look to Sam expectantly. "You need a break from the books, anyway."

After pulling my arm away from Dean, I continue my trek down the halls. I keep far enough ahead to where I can still hear the brothers whispering to each other.

"I'm telling you, maybe this was a bad idea," Dean mutters.

"You agreed to let her stay here with us!" Sam protests. "Don't try and put this one on me, Dean. You're at fault, too."

"You didn't have her trying to tear apart your room!"

"You thought she was trying to steal?"

"She thought she was trying to be slick. Now she's gonna try and convince us that whatever's she's got to show us is her lame excuse."

"If you would stop assuming the worst of me, Dean," I say bitingly as I stop in front of the door I'd been looking for, "that would be great." I turn to the brothers and push the door open. "This is why I was snooping around."

I lead the brothers through the door and to the shooting range itself.

"How come you didn't find this?" Sam asks Dean.

"How come you didn't?"

"How come you didn't say anything to us, Max?" asks Sam. "You knew this was here and didn't want to say a word about it?"

I shrug. "I figured you two would explore until your hearts gave out. Clearly, I was mistaken. This"-I point to the targets-"is why I was in your room, Dean. I was hoping you had a spare few weapons on you so they could be put down here."

"You could have just asked, like a normal person," Dean retorts. "I would have-"

"Uh-uh, spare me the bullshit. You would have questioned my motives whether I did the digging or I asked you. Anyway, I was hoping to utilize this place, just in case I go on any cases in the near future. You two can always use a tune-up every now and again too, I suppose."

"You want to learn how to fire a weapon?" Sam asks me.

"Why not? I can't be just the bunker's babysitter. If I am to be, I'd rather be the armed babysitter."

"Do you even know anything about guns?" it was Dean's turn to pipe.

"If I did, I wouldn't be down here. I would have had one the day we met." I snort.

"And you want to learn?"

"Yes," I say slowly just to annoy him. "I was hoping to do the research on my own and teach myself-"

"That would end in disaster."

I scowl at Dean.

"What he means to say is that we can teach you if you want to learn so badly," Sam translates.

I smile slightly. "Really? You think you'd be able to keep away from the books for more than an hour?" I tease.

"We'll alternate."

"Oh, no, no, we're tag teaming this whole training thing," Dean says immediately. "Neither of us is teaching her on our own."

I roll my eyes. "You trust me enough to stay here, but not enough for me to be trained just by one person. You're strange."

"I've been called worse."

"Oh, I bet you have." I snicker. I clap my hands together. "Well, now that we've got a plan, we need some guns down here!"

"You think you're gonna start shooting right away?" Sam asks me. "Oh, no, we're not letting you take a shot until you understand the parts and everything."

I purse my lips. "Fair enough. When do we start?"

"Right now, if you want."

"All right, then." I feel the smile on my lips grow. "Let's hit the books!"

**Yay, so Max is starting her hunter training!

P.S. Guys, if you didn't see the "Maxipad" nickname coming, I honestly don't know what you guys were thinking. I think it suits their relationship for now, though.

Nothing says a blossoming relationship like trashing each other with names.**