Well this is an idea that wouldn't go away. I guess it takes place somewhere around the end of season 8 after some sort of fight where Cas loses his powers and is left quite broken. Protective Dean and Smart Sam with a return of a new improved Amelia, coz I wished Sam would pair up with Portia, I liked her. Heavily influenced by recent curtain fic's I've read and enjoyed here. No slash unless you squint. Anyway hope it's okay.
Many mistakes and plus vital missing info like lack of town names and Sam's one time dogs name (And gender) might cause headaches be warned!
I own nothing. Nor do I deserve to.
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Sam and Dean were once again in a tight spot. Usually after a monumental fight like that they could just stitch themselves back together, visit a hospital or maybe their angel would perform a miracle; wounds would usually get sorted. This time round however none of the above options were at all viable yet they needed help, and urgently. So with Dean otherwise occupied enough to be sufficiently distracted, coz boy was he going to be pissed, Sam called the one person he hoped might help them.
"Hi Amelia?" He said nervously now questioning his own judgement in making this call. It was too late to back out now.
"Sam?" Amelia answered voice thick with confusion but noticeably free from anger "Sam is that you?"
"Yeah" Sam answered awkwardly "Uh, this is difficult, but I need help. It's a real emergency"
"Uh wow" Amelia said shuffling awkwardly herself and adjusting her hold on her cell phone as she looked around to reassure herself that she hadn't drawn any attention to herself. She was in a park and a few walkers passed idly by not noticing her, still she felt uncomfortable "This is strange because I'm kind of in a bit of a situation myself at the moment, something happened something unexplainable and I've got no one to turn to, no one I can trust anyway. I did think of you. Or I was thinking of calling you but I guess I'm still too... I was kind of building up to it but..."
"Are you okay?" Sam's voice was suddenly full of concern for her.
"Yes, of course"
"Are you hurt at all?"
"No not really"
"But you sound upset. What happened?"
"I'm not sure, I might just be going mad but I need to talk to someone. But it all sounds so crazy you'll probably just laugh, you'll never believe me. I can't believe me but...It's hard to explain and I'm in a public area. Kind of embarrassing"
"Where are you?"
"Some random town outside Lawrence"
"Really?" Sam said surprised "What are you doing there?"
"I don't know I just had to get away after everyone freaked out and ended up here of all places"
"Listen I'm just a couple of hours away I will come get you"
"Okay sure I could do with some company, other than this dog you left me with"
"Yeah sorry, but my life is pretty, well strange"
"Yours is strange? It can't compare to mine right now believe me"
"Well I promise not to freak f you don't" Sam huffed.
"Thanks, that's just what I needed to hear right now. What do you need me to help you with?"
"Well we uh, have this like bird"
"A bird?"
"A really, really big one"
"Big like a parrot big?"
"No, sort of like a really big vulture, or condor big" Sam turned to see Dean wasn't listening before grabbing the keys. The jingle caught his brothers attention "I'm getting help, don't worry" Sam told Dean who didn't question him but looked anxiously away back to his charge. Sam closed the door and continued talking to Amelia heart in his throat hoping he really was getting help and not messing things up further for them. How could he possibly better prepare her for this "but bigger"
"Sam they don't come any bigger? Unless... an ostrich?"
"No it's not one of those, it's just big and it's broken it's wing"
"Sam, have you taken it to see a vet?"
"No I can't. This is where it gets strange... but I'm hoping because you know me and you're a nice person you'll be professional about this and just help"
Amelia sighed in defeat, she could practically see the deep puppy eyes pleading down the phone line twisting her arm. And Sam wasn't cruel, at least she didn't think he was "clean break?"
"Splintered, and the bone is.."
"Hollow and messy, yes I've seen a few broken birds before, never pretty and they seldom heal well so... Uh I might just be hitting it over the back of the head" she said cringing, sometimes her job wasn't so nice.
"That's not an option"
"I have no equipment Sam"
"I'll work something out just promise you'll try"
"Sure Sam, I'll certainly try, only no dumping your latest pet on me after you hear?"
"This one's got a home your safe. I'll come pick you up as soon as I can"
"Great. And by the way my problem is still freakier"
"Good I'm looking forward to hearing it" Sam smiled feeling positive
"See you soon Sam"
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Two hours later Sam pulled into a parking lot where Amelia stood patiently waiting. The first thing he noticed was that her clothes were dirty and she had a small away bag with her, as well as the dog which was over joyed to see him again.
"Hi" Sam greeted them both
"Hi she remembers you all right" Amelia grinned before she noticed how cut up Sam's face was "What happened?" she asked shocked as he hadn't mentioned a car crash or anything.
"What this" Sam said indicating to the split along his cheek bone "Bar fight over something stupid it's nothing" Sam stopped as he could see she wasn't buying any of it. She was smarter than that.
"Really? Only the Sam I knew wouldn't get messed up in trouble like that. Are you in some sort of trouble?"
Sam shuffled awkwardly "Nothing more than usual and not for much longer now. Listen I didn't want to leave you like that, but... I'm surprised you even answered..."
"No" Amelia stopped him "That was what it was. Maybe It was actually for the she best at the time and" Amelia indicated to the dog who was still determinedly trying to jump high enough to lick Sam's face "She's well she's been a real friend to me so, you know no problem"
"Still I'm sorry it worked out the way it did. Uh is that all your stuff?"
"Yeah travel light, so come on let's not keep this creature of yours suffering any longer than we have to"
Sam nodded and opened the door to the impala for her and the dog to jump into, before returning to the driver's seat. As he buckled up he couldn't help but notice again Amelia's shabby appearance.
"Where have you been staying?" He asked as he pulled out
"I uh," Amelia stammered as she became painfully aware of Sam's attention on her and tried to straighten out her clothes, hands made a poor substitute for an iron she discovered "I've been sleeping rough" She confessed "But it's not as bad as it seems" she quickly added.
"Really?" Sam said sceptically
"Just listen okay? And no freaking out"
"Okay. But maybe you could stay over with us after? For a while anyway" Sam said fixing her with a look that no one could say no to
"Well let's see how you feel after I'm done telling this story"
"I should warn you that I've heard some pretty strange stories in my time"
"So have I" Amelia countered eyeing Sam's cuts "But you've never heard one as weird as this I bet" Amelia sighed feeling more comfortable in Sam's company than she had in days "So" She began "there I was, same old day at work when a dog shows up at my reception"
"Boring so far"
"True. Well I thought nothing of it either at the time, only it did stare like constantly, which is nothing unusual animals stare, but it really drew my attention like it was really watching me"
"Slightly creepy"
"It watched me for three days straight"
"I know some folks who'll do that for longer, so still not impressed"
"You're a hard one to impress Sam. Well It had no owner, at least I never saw one and I was about to call the local dog catcher when I noticed it had a limp"
"You were going to turn it in?"
"Yes I already have a dog remember I can't save them all not on my wage so any way when I went out to investigate it bit me"
"It bit you?" Sam suddenly sat up alert "What did it look like?"
"Uh does breed really matter here? A pedigree bite is just as painful as a mutt one I'm sure"
"No I mean was it definitely a dog ? Did you get a real good look at it?"
"Yeah it had been watching me for days remember? It was a German shepherd"
"You're sure? Not a wolf... uh those wolf dogs are real biters I hear, what time was it when it bit you?"
"It was a common looking German shepherd not a fancy breed wolf cross and it was plain day light"
"Day time, good"
"Strange, I would laugh but I...I thought were wolf"
"You did? Why?"
"Three days later I woke up in the park. Then I started dreaming of being a wolf. It got so intense, the dreaming and the sleep walking that I started taking time off. Then one day I woke up in bed only I was a dog, I wasn't dreaming" She finally looked up at Sam to gauge his reaction.
"It was skinwalker" Sam said deadly serious
"A what?"
"like a wear wolf but tame, a domestic were dog"
"Really? You believe me?"
"Yeah totally"
"And you're not freaking out?"
"Nothing new not my line of work I'm just so sorry it had to happen to you"
"What is your line of work?"
"I hunt monsters Amelia that's why I left. I tried to give it all up for a safe life but I... I hoped you would get a long safe life with your husband I hoped you still had a chance if I went..."
"My husband threw a fit and my father pulled a shot gun on me, of course he didn't actually know it was me at the time but I can't control it so I ran. You're not going to hunt me are you? The one person I can tell and he hunts monsters for a living"
"No, I hunt the killer monsters. You wouldn't kill, skin walkers don't usually hurt people"
"So why me? Why did this have to happen to me?"
"I guess that they are low on numbers and your skills in healing animals would be a big advantage to them. Just unlucky I guess. But you can learn how to control it, I can hook you up with some others and they could help you adjust. You could even return home, in time. It's not necessarily the end of the world. Give me time and I will help you with this" Sam realised he was babbling, this wasn't Dean he needed to convince here. He glanced over to check her reaction, she was watching him curiously "You don't really seem too upset by this"
"No" Amelia agreed."Well maybe, I can't say. Call it an early midlife crisis but it does have its moments and if I could learn to control it" She said thoughtfully. "Anyway this monster bird of yours is it something you were hunting?"
"What? No" Sam said shocked at her strange and calm acceptance of the supernatural, Meg's description of unicorn never fitted her more than at that moment "He's a friend who likes to try getting killed with us every so often"
"Us?"
"My brother"
"Your dead brother?"
"Yeah" Sam laughed "Uh not so dead anymore, turned out he was just stuck in purgatory. Welcome to the super natural"
"Wow, can't say I'm not nervous"
"Remember you promised not to get freaked if I didn't"
Amelia rolled her eyes "I actually may have spoken too soon on that"
"It's not so bad, well not everyday anyway" Sam said glancing back from the road to the passenger seat where a dark German shepherd now sat "Wow can happen any time huh?" The dog stared back with deep sorrowful eyes like it expected to get hit or something. "Relax I'll start researching as soon as I can. Now I've got an extensive library on every species of supernatural being that ever lived I'm sure I can find something that will help you get control over the changes. At any rate you're welcome to stay till we do, just don't judge us by the dirty motel room we've stopped at tonight okay?"
Amelia wagged her tail causing the dog in the back seat to wag its tail too in unison. It crossed Sam's mind how much the smell of one dog had upset Dean and he inwardly cringed at how this was going to go down. They drove on in silence till Sam noticed a lone veterinary surgery.
He pulled over and looked to the dog beside him "We need supplies, help me pick out what you need and please excuse my methods but this is an emergency"
Amelia cocked an ear questionably till she saw Sam pull out a sawn off shot gun from under the dash, then she growled low and fierce.
"Sorry, but I don't really have much choice in this, let's just get in and out of there fast" Sam slid the gun under his jacket and got out of the car holding the door open long enough for Amelia to follow. Her collie dog whined from the back seat as Sam closed the door on her "Sorry not this time" he said though why he didn't know, too much time around skin walkers, shifters and weirs lately.
Inside there was only one young nurse who didn't at all mind being robbed by this incredible stranger who let his dog pick out what drugs he wanted to take. Strangely he avoided the usual tranquilisers and shit and instead went for some pretty basic stuff and gas. She found it actually quite entertaining and even helped carry some stuff out to the car (after turning off the surveillance first of course). She was extra pleased when Sam paid for what he took and thanked her immensely for her trouble before returning to her night shift watching whining dogs waiting their neutering in the morning. Sam drove on at high speed teenagers were getting weirder by the minute, but at least it went relatively well.
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After an hour's more driving he looked pointedly at Amelia still sat beside him "Ten more minutes and we are there if you could start thinking human thoughts and change back that would kind of be helpful" he suggested hopeful that that might work
Amelia tried and after a few minutes found to her own amazement that it actually did "Wow, uh you wouldn't believe how hard it is to focus on coming back, it's so comfortable being a dog"
"I bet" Sam smiled but really couldn't imagine
"Thanks for being so cool about this"
"No problem just remember to stay calm now as my brother can be sensitive when he's cranky and he is always cranky, he'll come round eventually I promise"
Amelia straightened up her cloths (Do they shift with cloths on? Portia did? I think?) Picked up the bag of veterinary supplies and followed Sam into the small dimly lit dirty motel room.
Dean looked up from where he sat on the floor his face bloody and bruised. "Hell no Sam, no dogs" he whined as Sam pushed in letting in an over enthusiastic collie which went straight for him. At least Sam had also brought the help he'd promised. Dean was too weak to refuse help after the fight they had just had but this idea was getting steadily worse by the second as the collies tail whipped around his face causing him to curse and grimace simultaneously.
Sam ignored his complaint but called the dog away from him regardless "Amelia this is my brother Dean, Dean Amelia. And Amelia this is Cas" Sam indicated to the guy taking up all the space on the floor beside Dean, he too was all cut up and rolled protectively on his side. More notable than his lack of shirt on this cold night was the extensive wings extending out behind him "Hello Amelia"
There was a hushed silence as Amelia's world just got weirder. She considered if this was an effect or movie prop of some sort.
Dean broke the silence by lifting the rag he was holding to staunch the blood from Cas' wing revealing the sharp white bone protruding from the dark bloodied mess of feathers.
Amelia blinked and quickly recognized the task set in front of her "Okay what pain killers have you taken so far?" She barked "Back I need room" She ordered Dean who obeyed and quickly retreated to one of the beds pushed up against the far wall. The collie dog slid up beside him and he absent mindedly started to hold the animal thankful for its comfort as he watched Amelia set to task like she handled this kind of thing every day.
Sam gathered what little rags and warm water he could to help her with before joining Dean on the bed, it had been a long day.
"She's good" Dean commented
"A unicorn some might say"
"Yeah I can see that"
"So when we head home tomorrow she can come along keep an eye on things?"
"Sure"
"Sure?" Sam said checking to see it was really Dean that he was talking too "You do remember the dog?"
"Huh? Oh hell this one's okay I guess. Doesn't seem to smell"
"You've got way too much blood congealing up your nose"
"I should probably take a shower"
"Yeah I'll keep an eye on things here"
Dean staggered off to clean up. Sam noticed how his brothers clothes were already covered in fur but said nothing so not to ruin the moment. When Dean emerged Cas was cleaned up and resting, probably high on gas of course but he looked better. His wings were folded so he took up less room on the floor allowing everyone else some space to manoeuvre in. Amelia quickly zeroed in on Dean stitching and cleaning his cuts and bruises.
"Hey wait?" dean protested
"These are deep and I've already got the alcohol and needle out" Amelia said in her professional no nonsense voice reminding Dean instantly of his mother. "You can have some gas if it hurts"
"Just not so fast okay?" Dean grumbled
"No one else has whined yet"
Dean looked around she had indeed sorted both Cas and Sam without a single noise being uttered while he had showered. He shut up and took the sharp burning touch of alcohol infused rag after that without further protest.
It was four am by the time Amelia had finished cleaning away her equipment. Her life was certainly getting stranger. Her dog was curled asleep by the broken angel on the floor Sam slept balanced on the same bad as his brother; there was nothing left for her to do. Tired she lay down on the remaining bed.
"Thanks" Dean whispered, he was not quite asleep yet.
She could only just make him out in the poor early morning light "It's ok" she replied groggily
"We got bigger digs tomorrow if size matters"
"It doesn't, but that's good we need more room to fit a more permanent splint on your fiend here"
"Yeah we got more equipment there too, professional stuff and books if you like reading. Sam does"
"I like reading more than I like fighting" Amelia answered plainly
"Me too; we don't usually get this bad. This is just a one off, just so you know for future"
"I'm glad"
"I'll shut up now so you can get some rest"
"Thanks" Amelia smiled this supernatural world she had suddenly landed in wasn't so bad.
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