Light Growing Pains

"You know the whole being the silent one… kind of…"

Angela lowered her fork to look at Claire while finishing the bite of chicken she had taken. She studied the girl while at the same time studied Alex. Both girls were sitting across from her while Jody was at the head of the table. When Claire didn't speak, she raised her brow in silent query.

Claire and Alex shifted slightly in their seats. They were not sure if the woman was addressing one or both and the look made them want to confess their deepest, darkest secrets. A look at Jody told them that the sheriff wasn't at all disturbed by it. Rather she was accepting it and was eating her meal smoothly. She did ask, "You wanted to say something Claire?"

Claire looked at Jody and then at Angela who was still sitting there and waiting. The woman wasn't really moving but waiting for her to answer. It was one of the more unnerving things about her and it made Claire think she was constantly in trouble. At least it felt that way since Angela agreed to stay for the week and teach her a few things about hunting and to teach Alex a bit more about self-defense. She made a slight sound and her mouth moved but nothing came out.

It was going to be one of those long awkward silences until Alex asked, "What were you and Sam doing when you said good bye?"

Claire shot a look at Alex and the girl shrugged and said, "What? You didn't say anything."

Jody had looked up, curious about the answer too. She knew that Angela and Sam were together but the way they interacted… It had her curious but she was too polite to say anything except, "I don't think…"

"It wasn't good bye," Angela answered. She looked at the three people staring at her and then took a bite of her meal. "It was more of a see you later."

"You mean that kiss on his neck?"

Angela nodded as she looked at the girls. She took another bite while studying Jody. The last dinner conversation involved secrets being revealed and awkwardness. She merely blinked and ended up rapping knuckles for that much to the surprise of everyone. Call it her prude sense but it was more along the lines of just good manners. "We never say good bye."

"Never?"

"Nope."

Alex looked at Claire, both thinking that it was weird. Finally being bold, Alex pressed, "So making out like in a porn film is saying see you later?"

Jody choked on her water and an awful silence followed. As far as she could tell, Alex just insulted Angela and that part of her that was not human. She was worried that she was going to have to be the law and it occurred to her that she might not be able to.

She didn't have to worry since Angela merely stared at the girls before going back to eating. It was clear that the question wasn't going to be answered at the dinner table. If there was one thing Jody knew about Angela it was that the woman had a thing about table manners. Even when Sam and Dean had been wolfing down food, one look had them eating decently.

Nothing more was said until after the table was cleared and the dishes done. Angela was in the living room reading when the girls walked in. She didn't look up but said, "It's a vampire thing."

Alex and Claire paused in what they were doing. It took a full minute for them to realize that Angela was answering their question from earlier. Alex blinked at that. After her recent experience with vampires, she wasn't sure she heard it right. True she had seen the eye flare and the teeth but she had grown up with a vampire family and the things she had done…

Claire was interested since she knew Angela wasn't completely human. She had always suspected there was something different about her especially the way she hunted down her prey. She gave a slight grin and asked, "Vampire? You went native?"

Angela had looked up from her book and put it in her lap. She studied Claire's eager look and Alex's nervous one. She knew that Alex was having a tough time with what happened. Debating internally, she finally replied, "I'm half vampire."

"No way." Claire was excited at that. "I mean…"

"How…?" Alex was not even sure that was possible.

"Technically I'm a dhampir. I have one parent human and one vampire. Whichever one is which doesn't really matter."

"Do you drink blood?" Claire was rattling questions off oblivious to Alex being quiet.

"Only if I'm seriously injured or sick." Angela withheld the fact that sometimes a once in a while snack was necessary if she was deficient in vitamins or something like that. "For the most part, I gorge on anything with calories. I can pretty much devour enough food for two people in one meal."

That was enough to hold their attention for a while. Claire asked more questions about dhampirs in general and even asked if they lived as long as regular vampires. That had Angela turn the book around she had been reading and pointed at the picture of the portrait that Chuck had of her and pointed at its information. It had both girls looking at her like she was insane until Claire muttered, "Talk about cougars."

At that point Jody scolded Claire for that even though she was a bit surprised herself. She had long accepted that people loved who they loved and she wasn't judging Sam or Angela especially not after the way they looked at each other. It was just surprising that age…

"Trust me. I've seen worse and it's hilarious," Angela replied recalling a few choice jobs. She gave a slight grin at that.

"So," Alex felt prompted now to ask, "You and Sam?"

Bluntly, Angela replied, "He's my mate… or husband. Mate is the more common term." Seeing that she had their attention and it was like a weird cheesy romance novel to them, she couldn't help but give a slight grin at it. "Either way we're together."

"And what you two were doing?" Claire couldn't help but prompt along.

"A vampire thing. We're very affectionate."

What was surprising was that Alex started giggling at that. It had sounded absurd but she knew it was the truth when Angela looked at her. She apologized, "I'm sorry but… I've never seen vampires be affectionate."

"You see it mostly with dhampirs and vampires that are born. The ones that kept you… not so much."

"And Sam sniffing your neck… that a part of it too?" At the look Claire was getting she frowned, "What? She does it too."

Before it got out hand with Jody scolding the girls on principle and for the violation of privacy, Angela cut in, "Scent is a big part of it. When Sam became my mate, he grew a bit more sensitive with it and I've always had a super sniffer. Like the fact that deodorant Claire is wearing is the worst product to come out." She paused and saw she had their attention and continued, "A lot of what goes on between mated pairs is nonverbal. Goes for all species."

"So what made you decide to get married?" Alex was now curious but she wasn't sure how to word what she wanted to know and just went with something less offensive.

"It was an accident."

"What?"

Angela took in the three expressions staring at her wide eyed. Sam had always told her that the way she revealed things had people wondering if she was kidding or not. She knew that and did it mostly to protect herself but lately it was more of a means to have some fun. This time though it was serious and it seems something that the girls were responding to while she was there for the week. She repeated, "It was an accident. We didn't know we were mated until a year later."

Before the questions started Angela pulled down the left side of her shirt to reveal the "scar" that she had for the last five years. "Sam's mark." She only smirked then and refused to go into more details. She only said, "Context and thorough understanding."

~0~0~0~0~0~0~0~0~0~

"You did that on purpose."

Angela turned to look at Jody as they were washing dishes. The girls had gone to bed more from the fact that she had given a look that was mirrored by Jody; call it a double teaming. She teased, "Did what on purpose?"

"Start talking about vampires and then about sex. Didn't we do that when the boys were here?" Jody handed a couple of plates over to be dried.

"The girls asked about my kind and then it started asking about why Sam and I do things the way we do." Angela wiped the plates cry before stacking them. "I was circumspect and in truth a lot of it is intimate even if it appears like puppy love." Her lip twitched at that since she could recall the few times she had abused it mostly to tease Dean and Sam was in on it too.

Jody looked at Angela with a knowing look even though the other didn't see it. She wasn't too put out by it since it was pretty clean. "He really loves you. I saw it when we were trying to get Dean back through time. And now…"

Angela smiled as she dried another dish. She had offered to do it as a courtesy and thank you to Jody but the sheriff wouldn't have it. This was a compromise and she really wanted someone to talk to but was unsure how to broach the subject. "And I love him. Took me almost 2 years for me to finally say it and I was a coward."

"It's always scary when you take that step," Jody offered, "But when you know, eventually you just let it out. And you realize how much it really means when you lose it."

"I know how that feels," Angela offered quietly. "And the times you are lucky that it isn't serious…" She stared at the plate she was holding and thought about things.

Jody realized that Angela had drifted off and turned to see her staring at the plate she was holding but not looking at it. She had noticed her doing that a couple of times when they were working on the case; like the woman was in deep thought and the world vanished. She watched as Angela lowered the plate as if it would protect her.

Following what she had seen Sam do, Jody reached out and squeezed Angela's shoulder and called her name. The reaction was a gentler version, less of a jerk and more of a head turn, and Angela apologized, "Sorry. Been spacing out a bit more than I like." She cleared her throat and put the plate down and started drying her hands.

"Thinking about more than the usual." Jody gave a slow smile as she noticed the expression on Angela's face as she gave a pat to her middle. "Not that uncommon when you have a job like the one you do."

Angela blinked at Jody. "How…?"

"Clothes were the first hint. It looks like you just decided to wear Sam's clothes all of a sudden."

"Umm…"

"That and a few other things. The spacing out mostly and you tend to lower your hand. Not to mention the lurking of Sam."

"Ummm…"

Jody knew that Angela didn't expect it. She was probably used to people attempting to hit the mark and missing. One thing she noticed though that while Angela was a grown woman, a few things she did were more along the lines of a shy teenager and it made her feel motherly about it but she didn't dare unless Angela made the first step and asked. She smiled and said, "It's okay. I was there too."

Angela was still speechless about Jody knowing her secret. Well it was a secret to the world and for good reason and not so much a secret to Sam and Dean. Yet she had wanted to tell someone and Jody was the closest thing. If Ellen had been alive, it would have been her. Finally voiced, "It's true."

It was not exactly the words but Jody knew Angela well enough to read between the lines. She had never met a woman that was basically shy about things that would bring joy. Then again she understood where it was coming from. She went with impulse and gave Angela a hug and it was returned much to her surprise. She could feel the relief in it and guessed that was what she had wanted apart from what she was teaching the girls about hunting. "How long?"

"Nine weeks."

Jody merely smiled at that. She figured that as much when she gave Angela a pat through the layers of Sam's clothes. "How do you feel about it? Really?"

Angela let out a breath as she thought about it a little. Her hand went to her abdomen and it felt the swell underneath the layers. "Happy. Surprise." She looked at Jody and let out, "Scared."

"And that's normal," Jody replied smiling. She then had an idea and gestured for Angela to follow her to the living room. At the hesitation she beckoned, "It's okay. Come on."

The two women sat in the living room and had a talk. It was enough to reassure Angela and Jody was pleased to see the relief that came on the other girl's face. They spent the night just talking and Jody gave her advice. It wasn't until the next day that Jody noticed a slight change in the girls and how they interacted with Angela. She had her suspicions but in the end things went as planned but it was like taking care of three girls instead of two.

A/N: Just a few moments and a much needed girl talk for Angie about the little sort of secret she is carrying. Tag to Don't You Forget About Me. Enjoy.