A/N: I sat here thinking about Misha Collin's continued efforts on Crowdrise and RandomActs. I thought about my family's losses and tribulations this past year (continuing into this one). I was inspired by Enkidu and Onyx Moonbeam's challenge to incorporate Random Acts of Kindness into the Challenge writing this week. SO, this little plot demon wormed its way in. Hope you like it.
Disclaimer: Spoilers for Season 7 but set after all the Big Bads in S7 get ganked and the guys settle down to domesticity. I don't own any of the rights to these characters, but I like playing in Kripke's sandbox.
A Random Act
By Paulathe Cat
Mari'd seen them before. They came in once a week and bought a whole bunch of Top Ramen, a couple of boxes of Lucky Charms and at least ten cans of kids' spaghetti. The tall one was Sam, Sammy. The other, the one with light brown hair and beautiful green eyes looked like he hadn't slept in a year.
She watched as Green-Eyes helped Sammy into a big black car before putting the groceries in the backseat and driving away.
Every week, she watched them come in. Sam reminds her of Kyle. She remembers how it felt when she was taking care of her mother's youngest brother after she died. He had the same look. The shuffling feet, the lost look in his eyes, the skittish jumping at every sound. Kyle was like that, too. PTSD was a bitch.
They were in her line this week. She kept her eye on them. Sam was fidgeting and Green-Eyes looked worried. She tried to move the patrons in her line along as quickly as possible. If Sam was anything like Kyle, she knew the fidgeting was a precursor to more extreme manifestation of anxiety and "complete melt-down" she knows can happen.
They were close enough to the end of the line now that she could hear Green-Eyes muttering to Sam. "You're doing good, Sammy. Just keep it together."
Sam nodded with a faraway glazed look in his hazel eyes and she was able to see the trembling of his entire body.
She watched as Sam's eyes flicked at each product going through the scanner. She was careful to keep her voice neutral and not stare at him. Green-Eyes was nervous and kept his gaze on the tall man next to him. She could tell that he was breathing, "Come on, come on" under his breath. She put all the items in the re-useable grocery bag, took the cash and bid them good-bye.
The next week, was a bad week for Sam. Green-Eyes was having a hard time getting him out of the big black car. She watched as Green-Eyes slid his back down the passenger side of the car and Sam adamantly refused to get out.
"Going on my break, Chet."
The store manager nodded to her as she headed to the refrigerator for drinks at the end of the aisle. She pulled out a sports drink and walked out to the parking lot. The passenger-side window was down. Sam was talking to someone, but she didn't think it was Green-Eyes. She barely moved a foot at a time.
"Hey, Sam." She greeted. Green-Eyes looked up at her from his place seated on the asphalt. Sam looked out the open window at her.
" 'Lo?" Sam said, suspicion in that one little syllable. Just like Kyle, she thought.
Mari held up the sports drink. His eyes zeroed in on the small bottle. He reached over and lifted the handle to open the door. Green-Eyes glanced behind him and sat away from the metal door to allow it to creak open.
As he approached her, she gave over the bottle to him.
"Are you being co-operative today?" She asked in a sweet, low voice.
Sam ducked his head and turned to look at Green-Eyes, who remained on the ground. He looked like he was going to cry. Sam shook his head.
"Lucifer keeps looking like him. I can't tell if it's Dean or the devil anymore." He confided.
She nodded. Well, not exactly like Kyle. But, she kept her face expressionless and her tone neutral.
"I don't think Lucifer would bring you here, do you? Especially, since Dean is the one who brings you to the store every week, right?"
He considered this. "But, what if Lucifer is making this place look like the store?"
She had no way of knowing what to say to that. "Drink your sports drink, take a breath, tell Lucifer to drop dead, and come in with Dean to get your Lucky Charms, okay. Quit giving him such a hard time." He allowed her to lead him inside with Dean trailing along behind them. When they passed the electronically-opening doors, she handed off the giant, Sam, to Dean. Dean turned to her and whispered, "Thank you."
She smiled, "Any time." She turned to go back to work.
When they came through her line to check out, she had a smile for Sam and leaned forward to squeeze Dean's hand in reassurance when he handed over the cash for their purchase.
The following week seemed better for both men. Sam was definitely having a better day than the last time she saw them. They were joking when they walked in. Dean turned his head and made eye contact with her and nodded his head in greeting. The laugh lines were in evidence and there was a sparkle in his green eyes. She smiled and continued checking out the patron in front of her.
They went through her line. They had added some beer and pie to their shopping list.
"Looks like you guys are planning a night in." She observed. Sam's smile was bashful and he kept checking with Dean. Dean, on the other hand, flashed a full-on beaming grin as he nodded.
"Got a movie and everything."
"I don't see popcorn." She told them.
"We got something better. We got pie!"
"Not that Dean'll share it." Sam piped in.
"Well, it's not rabbit food, so you won't want any." Dean taunted. "More for me."
"Well, I'm sure if you ask really nicely, Dean'll give you a slice, Sam."
"Clearly, you don't know my brother." Sam disagreed.
Brother.
Oh.
She nodded. Dean paid and she wished them a good evening with a happy smile on her face.
She didn't see them the next week. Or the one after that. She wondered about them.
She took the Thursday of the third week off so she could go see Kyle. It broke her heart when she couldn't take care of him anymore. The VA doctors were all very nice as they told her that he would get progressively worse. They told her that he would become increasingly violent. The meds weren't working anymore. She wouldn't be able to stop him from hurting her or himself if he had a bad day and got violent. So, he was admitted to a Federal Hospital in the Mental Health wing.
Today was a good day. He knew who she was. He had a smile on his face for her. They spoke about mundane things, things that were insignificant and unimportant… the weather, the hot night-nurse he flirts with. She told him about Widow MacClean and her damn Scotty dog. The widow knitted him a new sweater that was puce green. They laughed. When the time to leave approached, she sat very close to him and leaned her head on his shoulder.
"I want to make a friend." She told him.
"What's stopping you?" He asked.
"Reality. Practicality. I think they have too much on their plates to deal with outsiders."
"You always think with your head, Mariposa. You should think with your heart."
She gave her uncle a kiss on the forehead when she saw the nurse approaching. It was the nurse with the sour lemon expression. She didn't like this nurse. It was okay. She didn't think the nurse liked her either.
The following Thursday came and she hoped she would see Sam and Dean roll up in the big black car. It was getting late and nearly the time for her to clock out when she heard familiar rumble in the parking lot. She smiled. She didn't even turn around to look. When the two men entered the store she wonders what kind of day it was going to be.
They came through her line. They had their normal Ramen, cereal and spaghetti-ohs. They added a few large bags of road salt. She scrunched up her face in confusion, but the look of exasperation from Dean kept her from asking the question that burned in her brain.
Sam flashed her a quick smile and looked down. Dean was exhausted. It seems that Sam's good days are few and far between so they celebrate them with good heart. When Sam has bad days, though, she can tell it must be so very hard to be a good brother.
They were her last customers before she went home. She clocked out, grabbed her bag and went out to wait for her sister to pick her up and take her home.
"Mari, I have to tell you about what Marco told Dorothia at work today…" Her sister spoke of the silly politics of a beauty salon. Her sister was vainglorious and shallow, but not in a way that hurt people. She just found those things of utmost importance. Mari knew better.
Mari knew the Perkins family had to go on food stamps because Mr. Perkins lost his job at the county due to budget cuts. He has a PhD in Sociology but can't find work. She knew that Chet, the store manager, stole nearly expired milk to give to a woman in the women's shelter every week, because she reminds him of his mother. He once confided to Mari that he wished his mom had the courage to get away from his dad when they were little. She knew that sometimes the Colb twins came in to the store to read comic books and magazines on the rack so they don't get beat up by that Riley boy on their way home from school. The twin boys were both small, willowy things and Mari wondered if one or both were gay. She knew all these things, but wouldn't share any of it with her sister. If she did, it would surely be spread around the small town in less than a day.
She knew a little about the men with a big black car; brothers who cared for each other, even when it was hard. She knew that they didn't get out much. Probably, because Sam was seeing the devil so much of the time. Lots of people speculated many things about them, but few ever spoke to them. The brothers were standoffish and suspicious. They kept to themselves and never had people over to their apartment above the bakery on Twelfth. Dean worked as a handy man and general mechanic for Art who owns the only garage in town. Sam stayed home all day and Matilda Meadowbrook kept an eye out for him in case he needed help. Most of what Mari knew about the brothers, she discovered during their weekly trips to the store. But, all of the rumors she had heard came from Ms. Meadowbrook.
That Sunday after mass, she prayed for the Perkins family, and the woman who reminded Chet of his mother, and the Colb twins, and the Riley boy. She prayed for her sister. She prayed for her Uncle Kyle and the Widow McClean. She prayed for herself. And she lit a candle as she prayed for Sam and Dean. She hoped that the angels would watch over them and keep them safe. She said a prayer to Saint Jude and hoped that all those she prayed for would find comfort and healing. It was all she could do, it wasn't nearly enough, but as she left the church, she hoped that the flair of warmth in her heart was her prayers being answered.