Title: Dream Catcher
Disclaimer: I do NOT own Supernatural or Darcy Valover. Supernatural belongs to Kripke and the lovely Miss Darcy Valover, and her children belong to the even lovelier SeerBlack.
Summary: When Kendra and Morgan Winchester need to get out of town they chose to do so on a simple recon hunt. But as we all know too well Winchesters can't catch a break.
A/N: Hey guys! I wasn't sure I was going to post this but I figured I may as well, to prove I'm not dead. This is part of the Wee!Hunters series that I may or may not write and if I do it will likely be done with SeerBlack. Seer is one of my favorite people to bounce ideas off of and she often has her hand in my works whether she means to or not. I've had this hunt rolling around in my head for a while, as far as the dream catcher itself. But I never had the right pairing for an AU, but I LOVE Morgan, he's the Will of his generation. I've got a bit of a thing for the Kendra/Morgan pairing. This should just be a quick fic, couple chapters while I settle into the swing of things. I know I've promised that a lot over the last few fics but I'm dedicated to finishing this series. I have lived with the hunters at the Resort too long not to give them their "The End"... OK so read and enjoy. I'm going to get some lunch.
Luke had gone to bed hours ago and yet she still sat at the kitchen table. She'd given up organizing her journal and resorted to playing with the essentials Kelly had insisted she use after Luke had made a comment about her having "rough" hands. They where hard earned callouses she didn't want to give them up. How are you supposed to work on your car with soft silky hands? Ever try holding a wrench when your skin's so smooth it just keeps slipping out? She had earned the rough palms from years of working on cars and hunting. Still she smeared on the lotion and shoved her hands down in the gloves. She felt like Mickey Mouse with them on. Finally she found out why she couldn't sleep. She heard a window close in the back of the house and got up to go greet Morgan. She tended to have the "I'm missing something" feeling when he was planning to come over. She leaned into the wall in the hall as he padded out. Though he'd never admit it he jumped when he saw her.
"Dra!" he whispered harshly. "What are you doing up?" She smiled sweetly flicking on the light.
"Waiting for you to break in. I've given you a key. You could just use the door."
"What fun is that? Besides it proves that you need to start locking your windows. Anyone could get in here." He pointed out as if this was all a test of her security.
"Yes, and anyone could get their head blown off too for doing so. How dangerous do you think a burglar is compared to half of what we see?" He just shrugged.
"Coke?"
"Kitchen." She said leading the way back to their typical meeting area. He grabbed a coke out of the fridge offering her one and she shook her head putting up her hand.
"Do I want to know what's going on with those?"
"Kelly and Luke," was her simple response. He rolled his eyes plopping down into one of the chairs and pulled a file from his leather jacket. He flipped it open on the table propping his boots up in the chair across from himself. She leaned over his shoulder to see what he had. "If I had been asleep what were you going to do?"
"Stick Luke's hand in warm water see if I couldn't get him to wet the bed." Morgan shrugged popping his coke open. "Don't give me that look either. You're laughing on the inside." He accused.
"Moron, what do you have?" She asked redirecting his attention.
"Jen faxed this over a few hours ago for Mom and Dad. But I nabbed it. Looks simple enough. Some hunter turned up in a hospital in a coma. Couple days later he wakes up and walks out like nothing ever happened. He went back to hunting but asked Jen to pass on the case."
"Usually when we pass up a case there is good reason." She pointed out weary of any case another hunter would pass on.
"We have to track down a dream catcher and bring it to Jen. She wants to look it over before destroying it."
"Do you really believe its that easy?" She asked a little baffled. Sure it had been a while since he'd been on a hunt but finals are kind of important and can't be skipped. At least not while Sam has any say in the matter. But was he so desperate for a hunt that he'd jump on something where all the facts are obviously not being given.
"No, Dra. I might be your Moron but I'm not a moron. Its easy, its only a little over a day's drive away, and I have to get out of here for a little while. Luke is turning you on me too! Look at you. Sitting in your kitchen at 2 AM with Jergen's lotions and Micheal Jackson's gloves. Its really sad. You're breaking my poor little heart." She sighed squatting down and resting her chin on his shoulder.
"Fine. We'll do it. I'll pack and we can take off in the morning. Go home and pack."
"I already did. My bag is with my bike in your shed." He beamed at her. "So can I stay here?"
"You know where your bed is." She ruffled his hair and started to walk off but he grabbed her wrist.
"Your hands aren't rough. Just ignore them, they don't get the job." She smiled weakly, forcing out a million thoughts she shouldn't be having. "Night, Dra."
A few phone calls, one argument with Luke, an argument about vehicles, and a hour of packing filled their morning. As always Luke wasn't impressed with the idea of her hunting and even more put off when he realized it was just going to be her and Morgan. The usual phone calls followed from her parents after he'd stormed out to pout to his father, who still happened to be their neighbor. Sometimes it was like they'd never left JR high. Kendra assured everyone that the hunt was simple they'd be back soon, promising to keep in touch as they always did. They were never really allowed to get off on their own. There was always a leash on them. So with their duffel-bags astride Morgan's motorcycle they strapped on their helmets.
"Sure you don't want to take your car?" He teased her one last time. As much as they both loved his bike he knew she preferred to have something with a little more cover when hunting, never knowing when they'd be shot at.
"I'm sure." She said swinging her leg over the bike and scooting back into the bitch seat. She played with the sleeves of her thick denim jacket. It didn't offer as much protection as his leather one would, and if there was any chance he'd do anything stupid and risk wrecking his bike he'd have offered to switch with her. He mounted the bike in front of her giving her a moment to get herself settled as he stood the bike up and revved the engine. She leaned in against him as they took off wrapping her arms tight around his midsection at first. But the longer they were out the looser her grip became until she wasn't holding on to him at all just leaned back enjoying the ride. They had a location for the dream catcher. Or at least they knew its last location, a day's drive away.
They were both happy to pull into the motel parking lot and stiffly dismount the bike. Neither said a word as they stumbled into the office. An elderly man sat on the opposite side of the counter playing solitaire. He looked up with a bored expression. Morgan gave him a bright smile, that he'd picked up from Will. The man just pushed himself up out of his chair and shuffled forward.
"Bunking together?" He asked. Morgan took a moment to check the man's thoughts. He was referring to number of beds not rooms and he sighed. "Nothing shameful about an older woman when she looks like that, son."
"She's my cousin." Morgan clarified. Kendra suppressed a laugh folding her arms over her chest.
"That's what they all say." The man muttered poking a few keys on his computer. "Cash or credit?"
"Credit." Kendra butted in handing over a card before Morgan could respond. "What?" She asked smirking at the indignant look on Morgan's face. "I have to take care of my little cuz, don't I?" The man ran the card and Kendra signed before he handed over a key.
"A-13."
"Thanks." The both said at the same time Kendra letting Morgan take the key. As soon as they were settled into their room they made the calls home repeating their exact location four times. Morgan dismissed himself for a shower when Kendra called Luke.
"You're OK?" Luke asked after the initial greetings.
"Back and ass are sore, but that happens when you're riding all day." She told him. "Otherwise I'm great. We just got in for the night. Morgan's in the shower then we're turning in for the night."
"So what are you after this time? Don't tell me 'a monster' either I know there are hundreds of types. I've picked that much up."
"It's not a monster. Just some dream catcher, and from the sounds of it its got some pretty wicked extra powers."
"What do you mean?" He asked worriedly. She flopped back into the bed sinking in it as it gave a sickening slosh: water beds.
"The hunter that was after it before spent some time in a coma before giving up the case." She explained as if it were a matter of little concern. "It's no biggie. We'll just be careful."
"I don't want you touching it." He warned her.
"Luke, I'll be fine. I'll be home in a few days, safe and sound." She promised.
"You always say that and you always come back full of rips and tears." He reminded her.
"That's just the job, Luke. You knew the job before we got into this. I've been up front the whole time about what I do and you've wanted to go this far."
"It doesn't have to be your job. Your parents quit." He pointed out.
"They quit because they had to raise Kelly, Kay, and I. They didn't want out. Its a very satisfying line of work. You'd understand that if you just joined me some time." She hated this argument they had it all the time.
"I can't. I have a real job." She bit back a harsh retort. She pushed down the urge to smack him, that was her biological father's response not hers.
"It's late and I have a lot to do tomorrow." She lied. Tomorrow, as any first day, is rather easy. Even more so in cases like this one where you're simply going to a previously known location and seeing where an item has traveled to if its not still there.
"Kendra, I just don't want you getting hurt any more." He said somberly.
"I know...Luke, if I had gone into pro-sports I'd be at risk of injury every day too. That's why you rarely see a pro athlete with gray hair. They get injured and they get benched and let go. Would you have stopped me from playing?"
"No, of course not."
"Then what's the difference?"
"When was the last time one of them was shot, stabbed, or otherwise maimed my a force of evil that can not be brought to justice by any branch of the government?"
"So what if I went into politics? Who shot Kennedy?" She pushed. "I'm saving lives. I'm enjoying my job. Better yet, Lucas, if I had joined up if I went into the army would you have been like this?" She was met with dead silence.
"Get some rest, Kenny." He said in a rather defeated tone after a few moments.
"I love you."
"I love you more." Luke replied hanging up. Kendra tossed her phone across the room to land in her duffel She'd put it on the charger later. At this moment she just wanted to close her eyes and stuff all emotions back into their happy little boxes. Kelly was the emotional sister. She and Kayla were always content to stuff their emotions aside. Kayla of course did this to prove she was just as strong as her sisters while Kendra did this so no one would know she was anything less that happy. Morgan poked his head out of the bathroom his hair still dripping. She glanced at him and instantly her frustrations with her boyfriend melted away.
"Whatcha need Morgan?" She asked not bothering to hide her amused expression. "Other than a hair dryer."
"Just checking on you, was quiet out here."
"Oh, the aliens just beamed me back in. Sorry. I'll make more noise next time I'm abducted." She teased causing the younger boy to roll his eyes.
"See if there is anything worth watching on TV, I'm still amped up." he bid ducking back into the bathroom. She clicked on the TV and began channel surfing.
"Hmm Saw is on." She called knowing he hated watching horror movies. "Ooo Look at that the Care Bears Movie is on too!" She didn't see either, as she searched for the TV Guide channel to make her job easier.
"Dra, please!" He begged. He crept out of the bathroom a few minutes later plopping down beside her in his boxers and t-shirt. "Shower is actually decent there was hot water 80% of the time I was in there. I think our neighbor flushed." She handed him the remote.
"Its getting late, there shouldn't be much more of that going on." He nodded.
"Relaxes the muscles a bit too. Your back is stiff." Morgan commented as if it were nothing to know of her aching back despite her not complaining or even having moved in a way to show how stiff she was. Kendra had become accustom to having Morgan in her mind a long time ago. It was his little sister, Izzy, that bother her. Having someone read your emotions at any given moment could be troublesome. Specially since she'd yet to find a way to hide her emotions from the girl.
"OK, I get the hint." She stood up stretching. "Try to wind down before I get back I want to go to sleep."
"Kendra?" He called as she started into the bathroom. She set her clothes down on the sink and turned to look at him. "If he can't respect the job then he isn't respecting you either. This is as big a part of who you are as anything. I know you love him and want to make it work but don't..." his words drifted off and she nodded. He didn't want her to quit or change this part of her life for Luke.
"Moron, I wouldn't give up hunting for anything. You're stuck with me." She felt him relax as much as she saw it. She gave herself over to a shower then and he laid in her bed flipping through the channels. He'd fallen asleep by the time she returned. She didn't bother trying to remove him from her bed, or even folding down his, she crawled in beside him and pulled the covers up over them both before drifting off.
The alarm tore them both from sleep at seven the next morning. The room instantly kicked to life. Kendra brewed a pot of coffee, Morgan cranked up the radio drowning out their dislike for mornings. It didn't take an hour before they were both dressed, the room pieced together in a somewhat organized manner, their directions confirmed, and sitting across from each other at the tiny table, laptops and coffee mugs between them taking in the final moments before the hunt began.
"Ready?" Morgan asked snapping his computer shut and throwing back what remained of his coffee. Coke was preferred but didn't take the edge off of the cool mountain mornings. Even in late May there was still a bit of a bite some mornings. Kendra glanced up at him running her fingers through long blond locks, looking more like her aunt that physically possible.
"Yeah," She closed her computer. "You have the directions?" He waved a memo pad where he'd scribbled down the route they were taking. "Let's rock and roll then." She plucked her helmet up off her bed and headed out the door Morgan not far behind. The ride wasn't a long one, just long enough that it was too far to walk. As promised in the previous hunter's report there was a small knick-knack shop in the heart of town. It was a quaint little place. The sort that wouldn't draw your attention unless you were a 65 year old retired secretary. Morgan stifled a groan when a bell on the front door announce their arrival. It was an old cow bell the owner had rigged up. The store room smelled of dust, old leather, and ancient books. "Kay would love this place." Kendra muttered as they wandered aimlessly through the aisles.
There were rows upon rows of little figurines lined up on the shelves, tattered time wore books stood at attention like old forgotten soldiers on bookshelves along the walls. Civil War era weaponry was mounted here and there. A 6 foot tall Indian stood in the corner, a three hour marathon of Antique Roadshow told Morgan that he'd once been designed to sell cigarettes and cigars. He glanced at Kendra as she inched toward the wooden salesman. Around him were other western items: Leather cowboy hats, chaps, a saddle that had seen better days. A massive head dress sat carefully on a faceless head. His stomach churned when he saw over a dozen dream catchers on display in a jewelry case.
"Figures." He commented tapping his index finger on the case.
"I'm sure the shop-keep would notice if one of these things was actually dangerous. Its likely a precaution. Let's just find him and ask –" She was cut short when she turned around by a lanky, balding man, with a long sharp nose staring down at her. He was too close for her personal space to be unruffled and she stepped back pressing against the case, close to Morgan.
"Can I help you?" He asked with a bemused expression. The man enjoyed unnerving people, ordinarily he wouldn't have been able to sneak up on them like that but Morgan had been paying more attention to the dream catchers than the hum of another mind.
"Yes, actually." Morgan replied. "My sister is into this stuff, and her 16th birthday is coming up. I was sort of wanting to get her something to add to her collection." The man eyed him a moment.
"We like this one." Kendra said pointing at the largest of the dream catchers. "Is there any special history to any of them though? That would add so much to the gift."
"No, not really. They were all made by one of the local women. She passed away last summer. All of them were her work except the one you pointed out. It's a queer piece. It was found among her things. She was in a coma for years before she finally passed away, was a peaceful way to go. Her nephew said it was a gift, the day after she got it she fell into the coma, never got to enjoy the complicated design. She was always looking for new models." he shook his head sadly. "I've sold it several times since but it always returns." He looked between them. He was trying to decide if he wanted to sell it again or not. He was trying to decide if he should give them the warning the last man who had shown interest had given him about the artifact.
"Why's that?" Morgan prompted, hoping to make them look seriously interested and inquisitive.
"Oh various reasons," he shrugged. "Some people just walk in and give it back, they don't ask for their money back or anything, its been willed to me a few times."
"How long has it been in the area if she only died last summer? Sounds as if it has been here a while." Kendra jumped in. That was something Morgan was curious about. The man was either lying and messy with his details or hiding something.
" Just this one year. The last one to own it said that it was a cursed item and urged me to destroy it. He wouldn't touch it." The shop keep pulled out his keys fiddling with them until he found the right one and opened the case. He withdrew the dream catcher and held it in his bare hands. "But as you can see nothing happens by simply touching it. That would be foolish."
"How much?" Morgan asked a little put out that the hunt was truly so easy.
"You know, I think I've made more than enough off this piece. Just tell your sister to enjoy it." He said taking dream catcher to the register and slipping it in a bag before handing it over.
"Are you sure?" Kendra asked politely, she was disappointed too.
"I'm positive. Just make sure she enjoys it." He smiled ushering them out.
"Jen?" Morgan asked sitting in the motel room. "Yeah, its Morgan." Kendra tuned him out as he began talking with their aunt. She was holding the plastic bag in her lap, sitting on the motel bed. That was it, barely a weekend trip and she was heading home as soon as they dropped the dream catcher off at the Resort, which wasn't but a hour out of their way. While Morgan talked, describing the dream catcher to Jen and confirming that they had the right one Kendra started thinking. There had to be a trigger to this thing. It couldn't be touch, the shop-keep had held it no problem. She slipped it out of the bag and looked it over.
Morgan looked up when Kendra's mind suddenly slipped out of his. It was such a warm comfort he rarely noticed it was there but the sudden cold of having only his mind contained in his head drew his attention to the girl. "Oh shit." He swore. He dropped hit phone moving toward her. She was limp, laying down in the bed. She was still breathing, soft shallow breaths of sleep. Her heart beat was no different than if she were merely at rest. He peeled her eyes open they didn't react to the light at all. He scurried back to the phone. "Jen, she touched it."
"Is she OK?" Jen asked there was a careful, tightness to the older woman's voice.
"No, she's out cold." He answered.
"Stay with her. Is she breathing? Is there anything physically wrong with her?"
"She's just out cold." Morgan told her struggling to keep his attention on her words. He should have known better. They shouldn't have touched it. They shouldn't have tempted fate. Why did he bring her?
"Stay with her. Call 911 if she gets sick. I will be right there." She promised. There was a beat of silence. "Morgan can you do that?"
"Yes."
"Morgan, I know you want to help her but don't do anything stupid." She warned. He didn't have to be able to read her mind to know that she was worried about what he might do. He wasn't stupid either, he wasn't going to do anything that could make things worse. "I'll be there as quickly as I can. I'll take care of your parents too." There was another beat of silence. Jen had watched them grow up, she was their aunt. She kept their pictures on her desk. She was worried sick and no good at this sort of thing. The silence ended with a click, she hung up.
Morgan sat beside Kendra for an hour. He didn't turn on the TV, didn't bother tuning in the radio, he just sat in the silence. He'd put Kendra's head in his lap, his fingers carefully combing through her hair. The first hour ebbed on slowly. He expected a panicked phone call from home any second but one never came. Half way through the second hour he couldn't take it any longer and reached his mind toward Kendra's. He touched it carefully, nothing happened. Even in her sleep her mind had always unfurled around his when he did this. Slowly, hesitantly he wrapped his mind around hers searching for the opening.
"I have to pee!" Charity complained as Denny tried to keep a hand on her. The bar was crowded and loud. The rednecks that filled the tiny honky-tonk didn't come off as the sort of people either of them wanted to release their little cousin with. She swatted Denny's hand a way. "I'll be fine the bathroom is just over there." She pointed to a neon sign before darting away. Denny ran his fingers through a mop of red hair turning to Morgan with a tired expression.
"Next time, we leave her at home with Izzie." He warned.
"Yeah, yeah. Have you tried telling her no?" Morgan teased. Charity had a way about her, she got everything she wanted without ever really trying. "Just go after her I'm going to see how soon I can get in on the pool table." Denny nodded, his thoughts were warning and Morgan dismissed them watching his best friend go after their cousin. He looked around the bar scanning it for some fun for the evening. The pool tables were back in one corner standing guard over the jukebox. He immediately started for them but was stopped when a short brunette stumbled out in front of him and mid-apology threw up at his feet.
"Brit!" Her friend was at her side quickly without ever spilling a drop of her own beer. "Brit, are you okay?" The strawberry blond only received more vomiting as response. "Come on, let's get you outside."
"The bathroom is closer," this one required a good look from Morgan. The voice was almost motherly, firm yet still kind and loving. It belonged to a leggy blond, with striking blue eyes. She truly looked like a Barbie doll. Not that he had ever been able to picture Barbie in tight fitting blue jeans and a faded Queen concert t-shirt. She smiled sweetly at him, tucking her hair behind her ear. She was so familiar and her thoughts were puzzled she seemed to have the same feelings toward him. "Trish get Brit to the bathroom. When she stops I think its time you both got home. I'll call you a ride." The strawberry blond nodded shuffling her friend toward the bathrooms. Charity was about to get a nice surprise. "Do you mind standing here? I'll never find this again to clean it with the drunkards in here. You're tall I can see you over most of them. We're a town of hobbits." The blond turned quickly not giving him time to respond, going to a small storage closet beside the bar and fetching a mop and returned to clean up the mess.
"You work here?" he asked conversationally. He hadn't noticed before how packed and loud the place was until he had someone to zero in on. She shook her head.
"Nah, I don't work. Well officially, I work on cars out of my garage when my boyfriend is too wasted to notice. I mostly just hang out here, keep an eye on my girlfriends. A girl can only take so many calls at 3 am because their friend is lost." Her mind amazed Morgan. He scanned it running his over hers careful to avoid detection. She seemed to live under heavy rain clouds but still her mind burned with a fire he was already in love with. "I'm Kendra by the way."
"Morgan," He offered his hand and she shook it with a slight smirk. "Yeah it generally is used as a girl's name. My family has issues naming boys. My cousin is Marion."
"Oh wow!" she laughed. "Poor kid. How'd he get through high school?"
"Carefully, he goes by his middle name, which helps some." He explained. He followed her toward the bar as she went to put the mop away.
"You want a drink?" She asked.
"I don't drink." He admitted. She produced a glass filling it from a hose, the dark fizzy liquid was all too familiar to him.
"Neither do I. Aside from that I'm willing to bet you're not 21 yet, despite what that ID in your pocket says." she teased. "Do you want a coke?"
"Sure," he liked this girl.
"Kenny!" She turned to face a Kid Rock looking guy with a playful smirk.
"Aw darlin' you know I'm gonna pay. You're busy keeping Blake and Jack busy down there. You know I could slip down and point out that Jack's been banging Blake's baby sister for the last two months and that bug she's had this week is the 9 month sort." The blackmail slid off her tongue easily. There as no setup for it and it didn't seem to need one. "Here, baby." She dug a ten out of her pocket and handed it over. "That pays for our cokes and then some. I'll be a good girl and ask next time." The bartender took the cash shaking his head.
"Kenny, please behave for once. You know he's got his spies here too." Had Morgan not been well schooled in the art of lip reading he'd never have caught that. The bartender's hand moved forward as if it wanted to caress Kendra's arm but stopped short when a big burly guy stepped up and cleared his throat. "Babe!" the bartender choked. "What can I get you?" He saved quickly. Kendra melted out from behind the bar with their cokes and pressed one into Morgan's hand.
"You should go." She told him with a glance at Babe. "That guy is a friend of my boyfriend's. If he sees me talking to you--" Her voice trailed off but the way she'd turned her head had moved the hair from her neck revealing bruising and he got the gist of what was going on. His stomach knotted. He didn't know much about abusive relationships, mostly just what he'd picked up from his aunt's mind on a very rare occasion when she'd acquire a blank expression on her face and seem to be completely lost to the world.
"Kendra?" He asked. They were complete strangers. Neither one of them knew anything about the other and still he felt that it was his job to protect her. He knew her without knowing her.
"Ohh Coke." Charity stole his drink from his hand and helped herself. Denny was right behind her and drawing quick conclusions about what was going on.
"Kendra, these are my cousins, Denny and Charity." He introduced them. Kendra smiled warmly taking in Denny's lanky form, red curls, and sharp eyes then Charity's bright blue eyes beneath raven black hair that flopped haphazardly in her face.
"Morg's not boring you is he?" Charity asked.
"No, not at all." Kendra seemed to relax, though her gaze kept flitting back to Babe. Morgan finally got the guy's name when he saw a blue ox tattooed on the man's shoulder. "I'm afraid I'm boring him."
"A pretty girl could never bore our Morgan." Denny told her. "Though he said he was going to be playing pool."
"I got a little distracted." Morgan shrugged.
"You wouldn't want to play here anyway. All the games are rigged." Kendra discouraged. "What brings you to my little town anyway, certainly not the pool?"
"Just passing through," Morgan answered. "Seems like a nice enough place, I might be persuaded to stay a little while." Denny cocked a brow at him before deducing what was going on.
"If you're content here I think I'm gonna get Cherry back to the motel and check in with the 'rents." Denny said trying to dismiss them.
"But I don't want to go already!" Charity complained. Denny gripped her arm in his hand leaning down to her ear. He whispered something to her causing her eyes to dart between Kendra and Morgan.
"Besides, you're too young to be in here. Uncle Will would string me up if he knew." She sighed rolling clear blue eyes.
"Fine, but you can't treat me like a little girl forever." Denny smirked at her protest leading her out.
"You three take care of each other I see." Kendra commented.
"We're a very close knit family. She's not really my family, she's my aunt's sister's kid and since the aunt is marriage and not blood she doesn't actually count. But she is Denny's little cousin and my sister's best friend. We all grew up at Denny's. Our parents were always on business trips and his mom baked the best chocolate chip cookies." he confessed and she smiled watching him. "There are four of us so Autumn had her hands full. I don't think we were ever on our best behavior for more than ten minutes and that usually took place when Grandpa and Bobby would visit. We behaved long enough to have quarters pulled from our ears and our hair ruffled."
"Sounds nice. How much younger is your sister?"
"A couple years. Do you have siblings?" He asked and instantly regretted it. Pain flitted across her face, tainting the angelic features, but it lingered much longer in her mind.
"Not anymore," she dropped her head. "I'm one of triplets, but both my sisters have passed on and my little brother is in a foster home."
"Where are your parents?" He asked without thinking. This didn't bring any pain instead a smirk tugged at full pouting lips.
"With the girls actually. Mom has been gone since Nicky was three. Dad though, that bastard finally took his dirt nap three weeks ago."
"Daddy issues?" She took a long drag off her coke then nodded to the door.
"Let's go outside where we can talk."
Two hours later Morgan found himself sitting on the ground beside his motorcycle talking with Kendra. She was stretched out on the ground her head in his lap. She had told him about growing up with a drunk abusive father. Her dad had killed her mother but the courts couldn't prove it. She seemed to think it was good her mother had gone when she had because not three months after her death her brother and his lover had been beaten and killed for being gay. Kayla, she described as being a sweet quiet girl, like a deer. Her father had killed her. Finally her father was locked up on murder charges and abuse of their little brother. Nicky had been left in Kendra's care, the two of them living with their grandparents. Her second sister had committed suicide during their father's trial. All of the press, the questioning, it had all been too much for the girl who had never been particularly capable of handling massive loads of stress and she'd slit her wrists in the woods on their property. Scavengers had done a pretty good job of tearing apart her body and it took dental records to prove it was Kelly. After Nicky started getting in trouble with drugs and petty theft he found himself doing two years in juvie before being released and Kendra insisted he be placed in foster care. She had told her story to him without a single tear though her emotions washed over him, flooding his senses and brought him near the brink of tears several times. When she started talking about all the trouble she had gone through trying to keep Nicky clean and straight she broke down.
Somewhere during their conversation he had started combing his fingers through her hair. It seemed to be such a natural familiar thing to do. He brushed her tears away as she pushed forward determined to finish explaining her family life. When her tears subsided she jumped to another subject of her tortured life: her boyfriend. He sounded like a nice enough guy when they were kids. The best friend every girl wants. He stayed by her side through all her family drama and never shied away from her tears or temper. But when she had moved in with him things changed. He wasn't as keen on listening to her. At first it was simple neglect, he wasn't around and didn't care the way he once had. Morgan knew about this. A lot of guys he'd gone to school with had blown through good girls by backing off once they finally caught the girl. They had no idea how to romance a girl. Then her boyfriend had lost his job and started drinking like both their fathers had. It was a steep slippery slope from there.
After a while they had turned to the subject of Morgan himself. He told her as much as he possibly could without admitting to being a hunter. Something told him she wouldn't bat an eye at the thought though. She seemed thoroughly amused with the idea of him being a jock. When they got to the topic of his baby passions flared. It was a battle to get a word in. They compared every brand, make, and model of every vehicle they'd ever had unbridled access to. She was impressed that he'd built his own bike and made him promise to let her take it for a spin before leaving town. The look in her eyes when he told of his uncle's Impala made his heart melt. This girl was perfect.
What neither of them noticed during their chat was a beat up, old pick up truck pull into the parking lot and Kendra's boyfriend get out and go inside. When Babe had seen her leave the bar with Morgan he'd sent men out to wander the lot and see if the two had left together. He was even more shocked to find that they were simply sitting outside talking. He immediately called Jimmy up. Jimmy went in the bar to talk to Babe alone before confronting his girl.
"Kendra! Kenny? Baby-girl I know you're out here." Kendra stiffened and Morgan looked around wanting to get a look at the guy he so badly wanted to tear apart.
"You have to leave." She whispered to him. "Get on your bike and go. I don't know what he'll do to you if he sees you." She urged him starting to get up.
"I can take care of myself." He cupped her face in his hand. "Its what he'll do to you that I worry about." Part of him wanted to toss her on his bike and both of the peel out of here and ride off into the horizon, far past Jimmy's reach. She covered his hand with hers.
"He won't do anything he hasn't done before. I can handle him."
"There you are sweetheart." They both looked up at the same time to find a man in a sweat stained white t-shirt staring down at them. He wasn't any taller than Denny, and even from the ground Morgan could smell the alcohol on his breath. He wouldn't be hard to take.
"Jimmy, I was just getting ready to come find you." She tried standing up and stepping over Morgan's legs to keep him behind her.
"Don't lie to me Kenny-baby." He grabbed her arm and pulled her roughly to him. Jimmy kissed her lewdly before tossing her to the side. She was quick enough to catch herself before tumbling into Morgan's motorcycle. As soon as Jimmy had grabbed her Morgan was on his feet. "What the hell are you gawking at boy?" He demanded. "She's my girl I can do what I want." Morgan's stomach burned. There weren't a lot of things his father and uncles had all agreed on, but one was how women were to be treated and how you were to react to finding them mistreated, especially like this. His fists knotted. "What were you doing with her?"
"I was talking with her. You might want to try it sometime." He snarled.
"Aw does the little boy think he knows how to control a bitch?" Morgan reached the end of his rope the second Kendra was referred to as a bitch. He swung forward his fist connecting with jaw. Jimmy stumbled back with a shocked look on his face. The moment seemed to drag on for years before he lunged forward tackling Morgan. They fought in the space between his bike and the Dodge Ram parked beside him. Fists were flying. They were cussing at each other. Blow for blow and all Kendra could do was stand by and watch. Morgan had the sense to remove his pistol from the waistband of his jeans and toss it aside when he pinned Jimmy. The drunk got his hand free and took another swing at Morgan jump starting the fight. Morgan's head hit the pavement hard suddenly. He fought to see past the stars in his eyes. It took too long, cold clammy hands were around his neck. He couldn't think to fight back. He clawed at the hands trying to pry them off. Trying to get air. One breath and he could clear his mind enough to finish this.