Punching in '9' on his speed dial, Bobby waited for Ruby to pick up.

Ruby had a specific ring tone set for Bobby, so that she'd know always to take the call. "Bobby." 

"Ruby."  He hoped she could handle what he was about to throw at her.  "Have a lead on Vorena.  She's in Utah."

"That's great. I'm not too far away." There was a sound of paper rustling as Ruby reached for a notebook and a pen. "Alright, what do you have?"

"She's in Utah, Mormon reservation 30 miles south of Moab. She has a couple of low level demons with her, but she's the one to watch out for."  Pause.  "You think you can handle it?"

"I get her and the rest will be easy." She finished scribbling into her notebook and put it away. "And if things go wrong, I have the knife. Thanks Bobby."

"Alright."  Pause.  "Be careful." 

"I will."

::click::


--- 10 minutes later ---

Ruby dialed Sam without taking her eyes off the road.

"Hey." The word was a greeting, and the inflection meant he knew who was calling.

"Hey." The word had more warmth than usual. "How's Dean now?"

Not so much surprise as stunned shock in a couple blinks of silence. Then: "Better. Obnoxious."

"Same old Dean, then." A pause, as she focused on the road. "Umm yeah. Bobby called. He had a lead on a demon I've been after for years. I'm on my way to Utah."

'Umm yeah'? Ruby had never, ever said 'umm' in the entire time he had known her. Sam smiled. It was audible, but only in the first few syllables, as it was hard to smile when one was talking about demons. "Years? You're kidding."

"She was one of the first one out of the gates, but nobody knew where she went. Apparently she holed up with some Mormons south of nowhere." A pause. "You going with Dean to see John?"

"Supposed to meet him. Make sure they don't kill each other." No joke.

"Sounds like fun." Her tone was flat. She had an image of how that meeting would go.

"That's funny." Sarcasm.

"Yeah. You Winchesters have always preferred to shoot first and ask questions later. But it's Dean. John will listen." She sounded sure.

"I know." Was that... bitter? "Wait on Utah and we can back you up."

Ruby exhaled. "I've been waiting a long time for this, Sam. Vorena is the only one I need to watch out for. Her minions will be cake."

Sam respected Ruby as a hunter in her own right. "Alright. I'll call you from New Mexico." Must be where they were going to meet John.

"I'm running low on battery, so I might not pick up." She sounded vaguely annoyed with herself. "I'll just call you when I'm done."

He was smiling again. Ruby was acting awful human lately. "Okay."

"Bye, Sam." She was smiling too.

"Later." He said it in that way.

::click::


--- About a couple hours later ---

Frantically Bobby calls Sam.  "Pick up dammit,"  He cursed into the air.

Ring. Ring. Ri-- "Yeah?" Sam's driving. The impala's engine has a unique sound.

Thank the lord.  "Sam are you anywhere near Utah?"

"Driving through it. Why?" Sam passed the state border sign an hour or so back.

"Ruby's out there going after a nasty demon. Talked to her a couple hours ago but it's a lot worse than I thought and now she's not picking up."

Worry. Sam was worried. This was a good sign, and totally out of the norm of the last two years. "How worse?"

"It's Vorena.  She's not alone.  Her consort's with her.  He's possessing a local."

"Bad enough Ruby can't handle it?"

"He's powerful."

"Sins powerful, Lilith powerful, or Yellow-eyes powerful?"

"Stop asking stupid questions. He's powerful enough she can't handle it alone."

"Shit. I'll call you back."

Click.

One minute later.

He's impatient when Bobby picks back up again. "She's not picking up. She was saying her phone was about to go last we spoke." Sam swore again.

Raised eyebrow.  "You talked to her?"

Just enough hesitation to mark the fact he was hiding something. He didn't answer. "Where in Utah?"

Eyeroll.  Damn Winchesters.  Sam was lucky there wasn't time to point out this fact.  "Mormon reservation 30 miles south of Moab."

"Shit." Sam hit the brakes and the tires protested sharp enough to make it through the phone line. Someone laid on their horn as they zoomed past. "I can't believe this."

Click.

Fifteen minutes later.

Ring. "Bobby."

"Yeah?"

"I can't get a hold of Dad."

"What?  The fu--why you tryin to get a hold of him?"

"Need you to keep trying to call him. We're supposed to meet up, you gotta tell him I'm going to be late."

"...Alright."

"Thanks. Call you if I find her."

Click.