The Shipped Gold Standard, Tag: Dean, Tony, Chris, Ellen

[Jo Harvelle]

Date: June 10th, 2012
City: Long Beach
State: California
Synopsis: The gang investigates rumors of a haunted cruise ship.


Harbor Breeze had a reputation for great yacht and cruise services. They did whale watching, and shuttled people over to Catalina, for the most part. Lately, however, they were having a bit of a paranormal problem. In the same city that boasts the Queen Mary, this should have given them an edge. But then people started dying. It was on a cruise trip out to Catalina that spent two days either at various beaches or on the water. At some point during the night, someone always ended up dead of unnatural causes.

Harbor Breeze was trying to hide it now, of course. But hunters had gotten a hold of the story anyway. They always did. They were here in full force, ready to rid the ship of it's ghostly problem.

Jo stood at the end of the pier waiting to be let on the boat, blond hair waving in the warm sea air. She was surveying the crowd from behind dark sunglasses. Since this wasn't the usual tramping around in the dark generally being miserable kind of case, she was taking advantage of the sun. Dressed in short denim shorts, sandals and an oversized white shirt over a pink swim suit top, she was using the cover that they were suppose to be heading to the island for some summer fun to justify her wardrobe. She also had an overnight bag over her shoulder that was mostly ghost hunting equipment wrapped in a couple changes of clothing.

“So someone remind me what this ghost's MO is?” she asked her friends quietly. She'd been over the case notes a couple times – in fact never went into a case without being as prepared as possible – but wanted to make sure they were all on the same page with this case. She'd worked with everyone in this group before, but never as a big group. There were a lot of styles here, and Jo wanted to help them all work together as best they could.

((No specific posting order, so you guys just jump in and that will establish the order.))

[Chris Beher]

He wasn't a shorts type of guy and Chris wasn't exactly sure if any of the other guys were either. Thankfully there was a case to keep them distracted. Even if it was a simple cruise ship, something that Chris wasn't into for he never really understood the point of being on a cruise when there were well other things to do. But after his little jaunt through fairy tale land, Chris would take trying to ride in comfort even if they had a case. As long as it didn't involve old ladies and frying pans, Chris was happy with it.

Standing a distance behind Jo, Chris eyed the others he was hunting with. While he wasn't the one to go hunting with a group of people since the Bunch had split up, Chris trusted each of them with his life. Plus he had been wanting to work with Dean Winchester since the Lewistown investigation. Now he was getting that chance too. Plus he never turned up a chance to work with a Harvelle..now he had both of them.

Fixing his bag over his shoulder, Chris' eyes fixed on Jo as the medic adjusted his sunglasses still determined to keep himself protected from anyone who possibly didn't know him. “Well, first couple were married,” Chris informed her. “Second though weren't...just friends sharing cabin 23.” Chris paused as he watched the ship from a distance. “They went wandering around the ship and then the next day they were labeled as missing. Reports for all said they went overboard when they found a shoe from one of the missing friends in the water.”

As a professed 'landlubber', being born in Vegas and hardly ever setting foot on a boat before, Chris wasn't sure where they weren't allowed to explore. “I got my fingers on a file though from the first two that were taken. Hubby Gilbert Savage had some sea sickness issue. I say we look into the medic station, see if maybe any others had the same symptoms.”

Chris' eyes looked over at the others. “Anyone have any ideas other then faking sea sickness?” He asked knowing it was the easiest way to get in but who knew how well it would work. He could walk in and discuss it but Chris wasn't willing to toss his face around so freely. Besides in all honesty he knew between all of them, they would be able to figure something out. After all, with a skilled hunter like Ellen with them and after they had taken on and survived the events of Lewistown, this would be possibly like a case they all knew they could handle with ease.


((And with the simple phrase “...could handle with ease” I think I just jinxed us because that and 'easy as pie' are like a curse in itself))

[Dean Winchester]

His one concession to the warm, sunny California weather was discarding his plaid. Instead, he wore a light green t-shirt, jeans and boots, and his blue jacket. The bright California sun glittered off the water, making Dean glad for his sunglasses. The cool breeze coming off the water did its level best to ruffle his short hair.

Standing on the dock behind Jo and Chris, he glanced back toward Ellen. He wasn't sure about this hunt, though. He had never been on a boat before. Not a cruise ship. They were going to be gliding over water. Deep water, within which depths hid a multitude of life, not all whom were friendly. It was a big step. After all, boats sank.

Yes, yes, it was a phobia, but it wasn't an irrational one. Boats sink, planes crash, clowns kill. Cars crash too, but usually Dean was driving the car; in control. He had some control when driving that he did not while flying, or adjusting to sea legs on a boat. In addition, the Impala was solid steel, no plastic or fibreglass for his baby. When she had been t-boned by a semi, she had held up remarkably well, protecting her fragile passengers with her strength.

He wasn't looking forward to getting on this boat. He still remembered the Costa Concordia cruise ship going down off the coast of Italy. It had made a huge splash in the papers, some months back, and he wouldn't be surprised if some of the victims would haunt the waterways within a few years. But that was a job for the Italian hunters.

Instead, here he was, taking care of a supernatural boat problem. He hesitated. "Maybe someone should stay on land. You know, to provide not drowned backup. And research. From. The, uh. From the library. In case we need more researchy library things." And to read makes his speaking english good. What were even those sounds coming out of his mouth?

[Tony Vallone]

Tony shifted his bag down from his shoulder to sit on the pier by his feet. He was no stranger to boats, though this would be his first haunted one. In all honesty, he was actually quite excited. The group he was working this job with was probably part of the excitement, rather than a damper on it, given that he usually preferred to work alone. He didn't often work in groups, usually if he had to have someone else, it was one other person. But all of the hunters here were good ones.

He'd worked with Jo once before, and remembered well how competant she was. Chris was a hunter he hadn't seen since he'd only been starting out, and being in his company now made him remember how much of an arrogant asshole he'd been to the medical man back when they'd first met. Dean was the one he had the most experience with, having worked on three different jobs together before this one. Ellen was the only one he'd never worked with before, but he got the distinct impression that she was just as trustworthy as the others, and so he trusted her.

He wondered slightly if Chris even remembered him, but this wasn't exactly the time to bring up the lodge room that looked like a murder scene. Especially not while they were trying to figure out what exactly they were investigating. His eyes, the eyes of a man highly familiar with the ocean and all its creatures, scanned the horizon as he listened to Chris explain the ghost's modus operandi and open the floor for suggestions on gaining access to the medical station on board. He opened his mouth to make a suggestion, but Dean said something and he turned a look on him.

"I never imagined you'd be scared to go on a boat," he told the other hunter. "They're nothing to be scared of, I've been on them loads of times. Used to make a living on them taking pictures." He thought about mentioning the possibility of giant sea creatures capable of taking down a boat, but figured that wouldn't help. Besides, he was seventy-five percent sure that there was nothing like that in this part of the ocean anyway. Unless giant squids were migrating.

"Anyway," he changed topic, turning to the others, "besides faking seasickness, someone can jump overboard and the others can pull them back and they can pretend to be non-responsive and the medics can be called, then someone sneaks away to rifle through the medical papers." He shrugged as if he didn't care whether his idea was considered or not. Even he had to admit that it probably wasn't a very good one, but sometimes creating a distraction could be better than faking an illness that could be easily cured with a motion-sickness patch. "Or some other type of distraction," he added after a moment.

[Ellen Harvelle]

The sun was bright. Too bright. Ellen wore sunglasses and a frown to compliment her tank top and blue jeans. She brought her jacket but it was too warm to wear and Ellen didn't like that one bit. Her daughter seemed to be the only one enjoying this job and playing the part.

One of the guys who came along with them, Chris, was a handsome son of a gun. Doctor, too. Jo had told Ellen about the man and he seemed pretty reliable. She gave Jo a look and a nod towards Chris. Can't go wrong with a handsome doctor and hunter. Right? He also seemed to be pretty knowledgeable about the goings on. He must have been the one that gave Jo the call. The other one, Ellen believed she had been introduced to as Tony seemed alright. She didn't know anything about him though, other than he was another good looking hunter. Ellen found herself thinking that she really needed to go hunting with Jo and her friends more often.

As everyone began to speak, she wondered how it was that they dragged her to California, of all places, and convinced her of taking on a job on a ghost ship. Ellen didn't even like boats. She stepped closer as Dean peeked at her over his shoulder and as he began to speak, she looked at him over her sunglasses. Boy was scared as a cat at the dog pound. “Oh no you don't.” Ellen placed her hand heavily on Dean's shoulder and began to push him along. “If they're gonna make me go on this God forsaken thing, there aint no way you're getting out of it.”

She shook her head as Tony spoke. “I don't think it would be a good idea for any of us to go overboard. 'Specially in the middle of the ocean. Even making ourselves sick sounds iffy. We shouldn't be puttin ourselves in any more possible danger.” Ellen grew quiet as a group of crew members began to walk by them. “Some kind of distraction seems to be our best bet... Fight, maybe?”

[Jo Harvelle]

Her friends were a bunch of buzz kills. How could they not be enjoying the warm beach weather? Jo wasn't skittish of tackling cases in the dirt or muck or cold or dark, but that didn't mean she wasn't going to enjoy the break from routine. Preferably pool/beach side, but not until after the solved the case.

At least some of her companions were being professional. The blond listened to Chris give everyone the run down, frowning at her mother when she saw the nod. Yes, she knew what it meant, and no she was not going to act on it. She was working, for all she was dressed for play. And Tony was at least comfortable with boats and coming up with suggestions that weren't staying on land. Jo tried not to laugh as the others hazed Dean for his boat fear, but couldn't not grin.

"Come on, Dean, it'll be fun," she said, taking pity on him. "It's bikini weather, and well," Jo looked pointedly at a group of college aged girls going past that she was pretty sure all three guys would enjoy the view of, her point pretty much made.

Speaking of alternate plans...her eyes caught the group of Harbor Breeze staff also passing them, noting with interest the direction a certain members eyes went. "I think we have our distraction," she announced with no small amount of satisfaction. When no one appeared to know what she was talking about, Jo sighed. Boys. She missed Parker in moments like these. "The ship's doc just totally checked out my mom," she explained, with a grin that could definitely be called evil. "All we have to do to distract him is get him flirting with her." Yes, she was pimping out her mother for the sake of a case. But hell, she had lost count of how many times she had played coquette in order to get the job done. If the guy had younger tastes, she would probably be doing it now. But he didn't, so Jo was definitely going to torture her mother with it.

"Chris, you know the most about medical stuff, so you should probably spy while she is doing that. As for ideas about what if it isn't found in the medical records..." Jo shrugged with one shoulder. "I made sure to book us the room both couples stayed in before they died. Might just be a coincidence, it isn't like this is one of those huge cruise ships, but I didn't want to take the chance. Two of us can stay in it, while the other three stay next door. Does it seem to matter what gender the occupants are?" she asked Chris, considering more than half of the possible pairings involved same gender pairs. Which, both the rooms she booked contained two single beds (plus she had ordered a roll away for the second room), so it wouldn't be weird no matter how you diced it.

"What I am worried most about isn't finding out who the ghost is, though, but what we are going to do if they were buried at sea. Some how, I doubt ripping off a cement truck again will really help much," she quipped, with a smile for Dean for that shared adventure.

[Chris Beher]

Chris looked over at Dean through his dark sunglasses and a smile crossed his lips. “Come on, don't you know how to do the doggy paddle at least?” He teased Dean before glancing at Tony. He had been surprised to see the hunter at Lewistown but that meant one thing that Chris enjoyed. Tony was still alive and still alive meant he was good at his job. He also hadn't called Chris again so that meant he had become really good at his job. But the medic wasn't going to tell him that. The last time he had told a hunter he was doing good, the hunter had ended up in jail protecting him and another member of the Bunch. He didn't want to repeat that.

Of course he was completely oblivious to the look Ellen had given him. But if Chris had seen it, the entire meaning would have gone over his head. It wasn't because he didn't understand those types of looks. Oh he understood them, he just didn't leap in feet first because mom said so. He had been there, done that, and ended up badly burned in Detroit over it. He did however catch Jo's frown but assumed it was for the ideas that were being tossed around.

That was until Jo suggested Ellen being checked out. Yes it took him a minute to figure it out, his brain didn't think that way and he had been in deep concentration on something else. Brow furrowing, Chris looked at her cautiously. “You good with that?” He inquired of Ellen. Sure he would have done it in a heart beat to a few of the ladies that were in the Bunch but this was his first hunt with Ellen and he wanted to see what she was comfortable with. “I'll make copies of what's important.” Important not being the bikini clad women with sunburns thanks to lack of protection. Didn't they know excessive sun could cause skin cancer?

His mind snapped back with Jo's question and Chris shrugged. “Didn't matter. Victims three and four were just two girlfriends on a cruise to celebrate one's engagement.” Chris looked over at Jo. “I say draw straws and see what comes up.” He informed her. He wasn't the one to request ladies be in one room and the men in the other. When with the Bunch he had slept with CD nearly in the same bed (long story involving the weapons needing a place to crash all of their own) so if he was in a room with Jo or Ellen, Chris didn't care.

“Anyone got a request for bedding or farming out Ellen for the ship's doctor?” Chris added, giving Jo a smile indicated he was teasing and that the idea would work if Ellen agreed to it. “And some one better make sure Dean has the little floaters just to feel safe,” He added so only Jo could hear him.

"Tony, you think you could maybe find a ships log or something? Maybe there's a specific point on the voyage when all the others go missing too?"

[Dean Winchester]

When Tony expressed his surprise at Dean's reluctance to get on the boat, Dean threw his hands up, "boats sink! Remember the Titanic?!" Dean took a step backwards, but Ellen slapped a freakishly strong hand for such a tiny woman on his shoulder and began to push him toward the boarding ramp. Dear god, he was gonna die.

"I can swim, but sinking boats tend to do this whole sucking thing that drags people down, man," Dean muttered, aggrieved that people weren't taking this more seriously. Of course, there was Jo rubbing salt on the wound by saying it would be "fun". Yes. Drowning was fun. Then she elucidated the fact it was "bikini weather" gesturing toward a group of hot college girls all whom were boarding the boat ahead of them. The sight of them helped change his tune pretty quickly. Well, he was a guy, and he wasn't dead (yet), and they were pretty hot.

He perked up when Jo started forming a plan that basically worked by sassing her mother, and Dean unobtrusively sidled to the side, trying to get out of range of mount Ellen before she blew her stack at Jo. Oh man, Jo was so going to get an earful from Ellen. Suggesting that Ellen ply her feminine wiles to get an in on the case? Dean wished he had some popcorn. Which made him realize he was getting hungry. He hoped there was enough food on the cruise.

Picking up his duffle bag that he had carefully packed with a few select weapons, he raised an eyebrow at Chris' egging words. Ooh, thems were fightin' words. "I have no comment on "farming" out Ellen for the ship's doctor, but Jo and I can't share a room. It will not end well. Just trust me on that."

The ship's log thing was a good thought though, and he volunteered to play lookout/distraction for Tony when the man went to check it out. He and Tony played pretty well together, despite their initial rocky start.

[Tony Vallone]

"Titanic went down because of an iceberg, genius," he reminded Dean, smiling a bit when everyone joined in ganging up on Dean. "Suck it up, Winchester. She's not going to sink. And if she does, well, let's just hope there's enough life boats to go around, huh?"

When Jo pointed out the college girls, he couldn't help but look. They were at least ten to fifteen years younger than him, but his male brain didn't seem to care as he tilted his head slightly and let his eyes linger for a second on the curves of their bodies before he snapped himself out of it. He was on a job, and he didn't do random hookups, especially not with women more than ten years younger than him.

Ellen shot down his idea of someone going overboard, but he didn't really care too much, he'd known it was probably a bad idea to begin with. He shook his head slightly when she suggested a fight, not sure that would give them the distraction they needed and he would have said so had Jo not spoken.

He raised an eyebrow, his eyes flickering over to her. Tony had seen the staff pass by, but had missed the apparent checking-out of the elder Harvelle, since he'd been watching the rest of the staff, looking for any signs, however minute they might be, that the crew was on edge. If he was a staff member on a ship where passengers routinely went missing, he'd be just a little freaked.

Tony bit his lip when Jo suggested getting Ellen and the doctor flirting. He wasn't sure what to think about that. On the one hand, if Ellen wasn't the type to do something like that for the sake of a case, Jo wouldn't have mentioned it. Ellen was her mother, and so Tony took it as a given that Jo knew how she worked, what she'd be willing to do or not do. On the other hand, he didn't want to put someone he didn't know in a situation that couldn't be predicted. There was no way to tell what the doctor would do, whether things could potentially get out of control. Even though he didn't really know Ellen, he trusted that, as a professional, she would be able to handle the situation, but that didn't stop his mind from spinning out worst case scenarios.

He managed to pull himself out of his thoughts and back to the present when Jo wondered what they were going to do about the ghost. "Jo's got a good point. If they're buried at sea, we've got a serious problem. We should be able to search the internet while on board, we can check and see if anyone's drowned in these waters or otherwise ended up laid to rest on the ocean floor. If the search turns something up, we'll think of something."

He turned his attention to Chris when the medic asked him a question. "Oh, yeah, I can do that. Just need to get into the wheelhouse." He nodded and looked over at Dean when he volunteered to be his distraction. "Knew I could count on you, Dean," he thanked his fellow hunter. The three jobs they'd worked before this one had fostered a sense of trust between them, and now, after the last case they'd worked, facing certain doom if they failed in their mission, there was no one Tony would rather have on his six. Offering to bunk with Dean, he picked his bag back up off the pier and slung it over his shoulder.

[Ellen Harvelle]

When Jo brought up having found a distraction, Ellen looked at her, confused. When she laid it out, Ellen's eyes widened. “What? No he didn't.” She looked towards the leaving crew and caught a smile from the medic who had turned once more on his way past. Her face falls and her eyes meet Jo's. There was no way her daughter would ever make her do something like... oh, who was she kidding. It's Jo. Her daughter had tried once or twice to get Ellen “out there” despite her disinterest, or rather, reproving in the matter.

Her eyes shot to Dean. He better not have anything to say on the matter. His own eyes told her that even if he had, he wasn't about to say anything. Smart boy. Dean didn't seem to “mind” the idea though. In fact, none of the others did. Despite not liking the idea, it was probably the safest idea and their best bet.

“Fine.” Ellen said gruffly. “I'll do it. But ya owe me. All of ya.”

She bent down for her duffel bag and stood as Dean began to say that he and Jo couldn't share a room. She roughly stuffed her bag towards Dean and gave him one of her infamous glares. Ellen spoke to Dean in icy words that were for him and him alone. “Better watch yourself boy. Mama's here.”

Leaving the bag in Deans arms for him to carry for her (since he's such a gentleman and all) Ellen walked over to Jo. “So, we gonna board this sea bitch or stand around here all day?” She grabbed her daughters arm and gave her a tug. “I need to get my sea legs and a drink if y'all are expecting me to use my womanly wiles.” She began making her way to the gangway. “Let's go boys.”

[Jo Harvelle]

Of course all the guys checked out the girls. Of course, having been the one to point them out, Jo couldn't then turn around and berate them for being chauvinistic. She really needed some more girl friends. If Parker was here, they'd solve the case, then lay out on the deck for the rest of the trip. Which, Jo still planned to do, but between the guys and her mother, she had to retain a bit more modesty. If only to hide that damn tattoo.

Jo nodded when Chris said he'd make copies. That'd give them all a chance to go over the records, and not be rushed on top of that. She gave him a smile for his very valuable ideas.

She nodded again when the medic confirmed the occupants of the room didn't need to be a couple, just any two people. “I'm good with any arrangement,” she opined. For the most part, Jo liked jumping into the thick of things, but she also recognized the need for cooperation and smarts here, with what was best for the group as the goal, not one's personal preferences. However, when Dean sassed her by refusing to room with her, she pulled a face and shoved him. “And who's fault is that? You're the one who's impossible to live with.” It wasn't until Ellen started glaring at Dean that she realized that to anyone who hadn't seen them try to room together alone, it might sound like he wasn't referring to the fact that they couldn't share a space for reasons that had everything to do with killing each other and nothing to do with jumping each other. “Not like that, Mom.” Jo said tiredly, before waving it off. She'd explain later.

Jo laughed at Chris' whispered joke, reining it in when the others looked at her. The blond gave them a wide-eyed, innocent look, like she couldn't imagine what they were looking at her for. Nothing hilarious here, moving on.

Another good idea from Chris' corner. She was going to have to work with him more often, this organization and meeting of the minds was refreshing. Generally she just yelled at Dean until whoever yelled louder got their way. Pretty much the same strategy with her mom, except with less success. When Dean offered to help Tony, Jo thought it was a good idea and said so. With Chris and Ellen on one job, and Tony and Dean on another, that pretty much left her to tackle the third. “Guess that makes me research girl. I'll get online once we get settled in and see what I can find out.”

When Tony offered to bunk with Dean, Jo gave the poor man a sympathetic look. Better him than her. “You guys good with taking the room everyone's disappeared from?” she asked, believing from experience that no one was going to want her to be left alone to do her research in a room that was potentially haunted or cursed. So over protective, honestly. “For the record,” she added in an undertone to Dean so no one, ESPECIALLY Ellen, could overhear, “Other than what I'm wearing, I only brought a beach cover up and a couple more tee-shirts like this one.” She shrugged, the neckline of her shirt dropping down to bare a shoulder. “Your loss.”

Giving him a completely ornery smile – hey, she wanted to play together, not play fair and he'd started it – Jo linked her arm with her mother's as she was tugged toward the boat. Before getting ahead of the guys, however, she pulled the key to room 111 out of her pocket and handed it to Tony. She, Ellen and Chris would be just next door in room 112, in case trouble broke out inside the room itself.

(I figure we can time jump hereish, after any reactions to things said since last posts? Chris can start the Chris/Ellen adventure, and Dean his and Tony's, and then so forth. Unless you guys would rather not time jump and just carry on. I have no preference, since either way I'm eventually going to end up writing Jo in research mode on her own, so *shrug*)

[Chris Beher]

Having listened to the two other male hunters go on and on about the boats and sinking, Chris wasn't a fan of that either. He was and always would be a Vegas boy but he was willing to do what was needed for his hunts. That was his life now anyways.“Ladies, I'm sure there are enough life vests to go around,” Chris joked with a small smile tickling his lips. He was kind of surprised that Dean Winchester was against boats. “Plus life boats....well maybe that one. But if it sinks I'm suuurreee that there will be enough driftwood to get make you a raft.”

Adjusting his baseball cap, Chris was silent as he listened to the chatter as he eyed a group of security as they checked tickets and the line dredged forward slowly. He was there as a new id, Johnny Strong, and it was flawless (at least thats what the scrounger had said) but he was still nervous. So he decided to attempt to hide it by focusing on Jo and the apparent interesting sleeping arrangements not wanted by her mom. But it still left him with her and her mom. Not bad, really. He had slept in the same room with the other women of the Bunch before. “You do the best research, Jo,” he informed her, though he nearly used the same nickname that they used for C.D.

So he remained silent on that one. He was silent really until after they had dumped possessions in the room and went off with Ellen, who he also promised to get a drink after they were done with their investigation, to take care of the medical records. “So you hunt with Jo all the time or just recently?” he asked her. The older Harvelle's name had been dropped once when he had been out hunting and he had attended the Roadhouse a few times with the Bunch for like maybe a month or so but he had never truly gotten to know Ellen when there.

He was silent as he walked, hands deep in his pockets before shrugging. “I've worked with her a few times on different cases. Hell, she's saved my ass a few times too I'll admit.” That was something that the bunch members rarely did actually. Admit that they were saved by others than who were in the family. “She's good.” Chris finally got out after he'd been dancing around it.

Once that was out, Chris swallowed and decided to step over the whole awkward talking to your friends mom while hunting a ghost that kills people on a cruise ship. “So once we get there I figure you could distract the doctor and I'll slip in and look at the files. And deal with some people with bad burns and alcohol overload.”

[Dean Winchester]

Dean grimaced as he endured teasing from all quarters about a valid and totally legitimate fear that the boat could totally sink. While he was a strong swimmer and probably could tread water for a while, he just didn't want to, and point of fact, Leonardo DiCaprio's character froze to death on that driftwood, thanks much for that thought, Chris Beher. Dean was just getting too old for this shit.

Of course, Jo had to rub salt in the wound about not sharing a room with her. He took the time to look her up and down, and deeply regret not having the eye candy. Deciding to turn the tables, he muttered back, "wonder if you told Ellen about a certain something that happened in Colorado? Good luck hiding that in close quarters for the duration of the hunt." He grinned at Jo, eyes twinkling with merriment as he dodged away up the gangplank.

His first step on the boat was without fanfare or drama, though he hadn't expected the ship to suddenly sink just because he was on it. He looked around then shrugged. "Heading to the bunks to dump my stuff," he called back to the carousing group. He paused as he saw Jo hand Tony the keys to the room. Awesome, they were getting the death room. Clearly, Dean was accurate about his death prediction, and oh why, oh why hadn't he just bolted for the library when he had the chance?

Nothing for it, though, as he made his way through the cruise ship corridors, looking for the right room. Finding room 111 was not difficult, and he loitered outside waiting for Tony to catch up with the room key.

It would not be long after settling into the room that the pair would be on their way to the wheelhouse. And hopefully, one step closer to finding answers.

[Tony Vallone]

Tony volunteered them for the haunted room, mostly for the chance to observe whatever he could before or after sneaking up to check the log. Manifestations of any kind would most certainly help them. Taking the key from Jo, he shifted his bag on his shoulder and took a moment to glance around the deck, making mental notes of where everything was. Everything he could see anyway. Prow to stern, port to starboard. He saw Dean head off, presumably to find their room, and he decided it would better to follow. He could walk around the deck later. Maybe he could convince Dean to walk with him, since he'd have to play lookout while Tony snuck into the wheelhouse.

Slipping past other passengers looking for their own rooms, Tony caught up with Dean and unlocked the door, holding it open so the other hunter could enter first.

"Sorry about the haunted room, Dean," he said, though he wasn't really sorry. "You think we should drop our bags off and head back up on deck? Or shall we wait a bit? Personally, I think we could wait a while, then go wander around the deck, figure out where everything is, watch the routine of the crew, and then figure out the right time to make our move." Setting the bag on the floor behind the door, he leaned against the wall. He and Dean were a team, and Tony thought it would be best if they decided together what to do. If Dean wanted to go ahead and get it over with, he wouldn't hold him back, and if he wanted to wait, they'd wait. Honestly, Tony was fine either way, so long as they solved this thing.

[Ellen Harvelle]

Once the trio got to their room and put their things away, Ellen decided on a quick wardrobe change. Since she was expected to flirt and has to wait on hr drink for afterward (as promised by Chris), Ellen felt she needed an extra hand. She changed into a tasteful pair of shorts to compliment her tank top. If he checked her out like Jo said, then showing a little leg would help. Never let it be said that Ellen M. Harvelle wasn't willing to take one for the team.

“Off and on mostly.” Ellen said in answer to Chris' question. “I was with her all the time about and a half before we-” Ellen caught herself for a moment and cleared her throat. “Went on a hiatus.” She wasn't sure how much Chris actually knew about Jo, but anyone who actually was aware about the truth to their “hiatus” was a small intimate circle. She listened as Chris began to speak fondly of Jo. She couldn't help but smile. “Jo's good at that. Saving asses I mean.” Which was true. She couldn't really deny how well Jo did her job. It worried her completely but her baby girl was a hunter. “She's damned good.” Ellen agreed.

The poor boy seemed to be scared or at least intimidated by her. Perhaps her reputation preceded her. Or maybe it was just the fact that she was probably old enough to be his mother. Being with so many young hunters sometimes made her feel like it might be time to hang up her hat. Then again, they needed her now. “Yeah. No problem.” Ellen tells him.

As they reach the infirmary, Ellen's thoughts begin to race even faster. She was thinking how exactly she was going to do this. It's not like she made a habit of flirting with men. Taking a deep breath, she stepped inside. The doctor greeted her and she smiled back as best she could. “Hello.... uh.” Just get on with it! “I, couldn't help but notice you before we boarded.” she said. The doctor reciprocated and asked if Ellen had needed any medical attention. “No...” She groaned. “I mean. I just... Wanted to stop by and, say hello? It must be, interesting, being a doctor on a boat.” This is stupid. “Thought maybe I can... uh, talk you into taking a break?” she asked. “A walk around the boat, maybe?”

Surprisingly enough, it worked. She walked out of the infirmary on the doctor's arm and threw Chris a smirk. Coast should be clear for a good fifteen to twenty minutes.