Bargain;
John told Dean they were hunting for a Kappa, but that's not the real reason John brought Dean to the woods.
She was beautiful, tall, dark and lithe. She was fire and smoke, ice and flowers. She was the woods made flesh, mystery and mist. The moonlight reflected off her blue-black hair, while the sparks of the bonfire echoed from her eyes. Her smooth, nimble limbs moved with the music, giving it life, making it solid and fluid at the same time. The raw violins, the hearty drums, and the lilting music from the guitars played her, and she gave them purpose. It was untamed music, free and wild and Dean felt it draw him into it, felt her draw him into her. His lips parted as his eyes drank in her moves. Subtly she dips then gracefully she jumps, her legs bare, then clothed, then bare again as her skirt flare around her. Her arms reached for the darkness, then for the fire in the earth and then towards him, calling him to her.
He didn't know her name, but she kept her gaze on him. Her laughing eyes gazed into his smoky green whenever the dance brought her face to face with him. And it was the dance after all, that was the purpose of this night. The dance made the colors of her bright clothes come to life, and the music broke the stillness of the night like a laughing lady in a church, echoing through the chambers of the trees and floating towards the darkened skies.
The night was alive with the glow of the fire and the cheer of the small group gathered around it, playing their instruments, watching the big woman dance the sultry dance that had come down from ages, mother to daughter. A swaying of her body that enticed men, and brought them to their knees. She knew the man she wanted to lure, although really he was still just a boy. He could not have been more than 22 while she was ageless. Still, it was this boy she wanted, the one she needed and so she danced for him and in the music and dance, she wove a net of lust and passion.
The woman drew back her head, exposing her long neck and Dean traced the smooth lines from the arch of her neck to her shoulder down to the cleavage moist with sweat, the skin reflecting the red glow of the blaze. He licked his lips, tasting the saltiness of his own sweat but his attention was on the woman and he felt himself rise, meeting her move for move, swaying with her, drawing to her and back, thrust and pull. The music kept playing around them as his lips met hers, responding to her call and giving life to her need. His body melted with hers and he stared down at her naked smooth limbs, his mouth seeking the dark nipples freed from the bondage of clothes. She was suddenly naked underneath him, and as she wrapped her legs around him he wondered how it all happened as he felt the cool breeze on his own bare buttocks. The questions were lost as he took her and her response kindled the already heated fire within him. He was lost in her hair, her eyes, her whole body. She was his to discover and his hands explored places soft and dark. He smelled wood and wild roses and lost himself in the crevices of her body, the flat planes, supple curves and smooth hills.
The music kept playing like a thing come alive, feeding on the movement of the couple, rising and falling and peaking till all was spent. Dean had lost all sense of time and place and suddenly found himself on his back, the breeze cooling the heat; the moon seemed unbelievably large as he stared at it. Turning his head he looked for the woman. She was gone and the woods were quiet. Dean closed his eyes and darkness claimed him.
John came upon Dean early the next morning. His son lay on his side naked and curled on the moist, mossy ground of the forest. Taking a blanket John wrapped it around his firstborn and cradled him, raising him from the forest floor. Dean was all muscle and John felt the strain as he carried Dean to the car. The walk was long and John had to stop more than a few times to take a breather and rest. Dean never stirred. It took a good part of two hours for John to finally reach the car and sit Dean on the front passenger seat. He placed his hand on the boy's forehead and felt the first signs of fever. It would be a long wait.
The fever set in that first night and held its grip on Dean for 3 days. Dean burned and moaned in his delirium. John kept his son dry, changing the sheets, and waiting. There was nothing to do. The boy would live or die and John was helpless to change anything now. It was too late, the bargain had been made and Dean's life was the price. If Dean lived, all would be well, if Dean died, then another young life would also die.
The cabin John had rented was deep in the woods, about 8 miles from the nearest town. It had served his purpose and Dean had never wondered about it. John had told his son he needed some time off and had rented the cabin to make sure they had some privacy while he studied up on the means to kill a Kappa. What a Kappa was doing in the US wasn't something that John cared to think about too much. They were creatures from Japan's folklore but it wouldn't be the first time immigrants had brought their beliefs into a new land. This Kappa had already destroyed some cattle and almost drowned two children.
After the third day Dean's fever broke and John felt the first stirrings of hope. He didn't realize how much he had depended on Dean's vigor and strong will to live. By the fifth day Dean was sitting up in bed, eating and being Dean. It seemed that the previous week had been forgotten, until John caught Dean's eyes and knew Dean remembered.
"Do you want to tell me what happened?" John finally asked on the morning of the sixth day since he found his son naked and shivering in the woods.
Dean gave him a smile and shook his head.
"No. I'm not sure really what happened anyway" and John felt a sense of loss. There was a time Dean would have told him, but lately, since Sam had left, Dean had been more reserved, quieter. The older man decided to let it go for now. Maybe Dean would talk about it someday and maybe not.
It was on the 7th day that the old woman knocked on the cabin door. John and Dean had stayed in the hut while Dean was recuperating, but this morning John had sent Dean into town for some supplies. He knew a visitor was coming and he didn't want Dean around. It would cause problems; questions better left unasked, answers that would only cause anger. Dean still felt a bit weak, but was eager to drive into town. John knew Dean would feel better behind the wheel of the Impala.
"The boy is alive." The old woman stated. It wasn't a question but there was surprise in her voice.
"Yes, he made it."
The old woman smiled. "The girl is pregnant. The survival of your son guarantees that the child will live. It is not often that a human can copulate with a Fae and produce a child John. It is never that the child lives, nor the father. This is the first."
She said the words with the lilt of her native accent. John just smiled.
"How can you know she is pregnant already?" He asked incredulously.
The old woman looked at John as if he had just grown another head. She let the question slide, not even worthy of a huff.
"So we have a deal then?" he asked, awkwardly changing the direction of his questions.
"We have a bargain human." The woman rose, gathering her colorful skirts around her and headed for the door.
"We may meet again someday human." She said in parting. "Remember, the boy is partly ours now."
With those words she left. John stared after her, wondering if he had made the right choice. A life in exchange for Dean's child. There was nothing to do now. What was done was done.
Dean came back 3 hours later, more chipper and asked his dad if he ever found that Kappa. John decided to tell a variation of the truth and admitted that apparently, there was no Kappa and the almost two drowning had more to do with kids mischief than that of any creature.
"What about the cattle they found in the river?" asked Dean.
John turned his head away from Dean, hiding the smile. When he turned back, his smile was gone and his attitude was dismissive.
"There were no cattle deaths. The only thing I found was a farmer had shot his own cow by mistake and tried to make up some story to collect the insurance. "
Dean stared at his father for a long time. John pretended to gather his stuff together and make ready to leave.
"Dean," John said more softly. "You were getting sick, I could see that. You weren't eating and you were getting careless. I figured you might need some time away. I didn't realize this place was going to be even more dangerous, with you getting lost in the woods and almost killing yourself. "
Dean looked away in shame and John felt the knot in his throat for blaming Dean for what happened. But the questions had to stop and John knew only one way to make Dean stop asking. So he threw the blame on his son. Dean never asked any more questions, just gathered his stuff and soon they were gone. The woods around the cabin were silent, but before Dean got in the car, he felt a ghostly caress on his cheek and could have sworn he heard a whispered laugh of a woman.
Three days later John walked towards the hospital room where his other son was lying in bed. The change in Adam was startling. From the weak, pale boy he had left, he now saw a healthy young child with color back in his cheeks and laughing with his mom.
"John!" exclaimed Kate, Adam's mom. "Adam is cured!" she cried with tears in her eyes and a wide smile.
John smiled back at her and at his son. "So, kiddo, you beat this thing after all." He said.
Adam gave him a smile of his own. "I'm not sure what happened, but the doctor said the tumor is gone. I'm ok and I'll be going home tomorrow."
John sighed. He had risked the life of his oldest son to save the life of his youngest. Dean would never find out about Adam or is own child, John would make sure of it.