AN~ *Cue confetti and music* After a extremely long hiatus, I've come back bearing gifts of Sisters Grimm FanFiction. The title is based off a song I adore and you should definitely look it up. Every chapter will be named after a song and some lyrics from the song incorporated in, but it's not necessarily a songfic. (There is a Question of the Week at the bottom if you're interested!)
EDIT: I noticed some mistakes so I came through and fixed them.
Disclaimer: Micheal Buckley owns SG, Blind Pilot owns 3 Rounds And A Sound, and About Good Old War owns My Own Sinking Ship. All I own is the plot and a laptop.
3 Rounds And A Sound
Chapter One: My Own Sinking Ship
Nightmares for the Grimms weren't uncommon. Hell, if you'd been a part of The Everafter War and seen what they'd seen and you didn't have bad dreams, you probably had issues. But Sabrina Grimm's nightmares were especially horrendous. Sabrina didn't lose control easily, but when she did it was undoubtedly because of something really bad. So when a stomach-twisting, heart-wrenching, half-scream-half-sob burst from behind her bedroom door, you bet your bottom her whole family came running. Even little Basil toddled his way to his older sister's room. However, the only thing they found was a weeping Sabrina trying to catch her breath with a horrified expression on her face. After she had been calmed with the help of every member of her family, the four Grimms trudged back to bed, assuming that was the end of it, no more disturbances.
But it didn't stop. More and more nights were filled with Sabrina's screams, from once a month to twice a week to every night. Eventually, Henry stopped grabbing his baseball bat, Daphne stopped grabbing her fairy godmother wand (But really what good would a make over do to an intruder?) and Basil stopped grabbing his teddy bear. Veronica was the only one who would get up to comfort Sabrina and after a month the whole family decided something needed to be done. They couldn't handle this sleep deprived, irritable Sabrina any longer. But there was really no way to explain to a therapist what had caused these nightmares, and if they weren't careful they could accidentally let the whole "Fairytale creatures are real" thing slip to the unaware population.
So in the summer, instead of going through the trouble of concocting an elaborate lie explaining Sabrina's mental instability, the Grimms packed three months worth of clothes, and took the long drive back to the place where all of their adventures had began. They were going back to Ferryport Landing. They were going home.
The entire ride Daphne was practically bouncing out of her seat with excitement. Eventually Sabrina got tired of the repetitive babble, every sentence she heard was along the lines of "Who do you think will be there?" and "I wonder if the house is done?" and "Do you think I could share a room with Red?" and most common "It's been three years!" Sabrina put in some headphones and blocked everything else out but her music and the scenery.
What will be your story now
Today it's something far inside
Hurts your body close your eyes
And I'll bring you back to here
As the skyscrapers melted into suburbs, which melted into country homes, which melted into farmland, which melted into forests, Sabrina felt herself relax for the first time in weeks. Soon, small businesses and restaurants began popping up until they were at the edge of town, turning into a long driveway that led to a huge house. It had storybook qualities, looking like several cottages stacked on top of each other. The upper half was clearly newer than the bottom, seeing as the house had been partially destroyed by the monsters released from the Hall of Wonders years before. But the house looked strikingly similar to its previous state. Sabrina climbed out of the back of the car, stretching her cramped arms and legs after the long drive from New York.
"Lieblings!" A warm voice reached out to greet them, accompanied by an equally warm smile.
"Granny!" Daphne and Basil shrieked, dashing up the steps to greet the old woman. Sabrina stayed back, significantly more subdued. Relda Grimm kissed her younger grandchildren's cheeks and gave them both a hug.
"Oh, it's been too long since I've seen you last," Relda smiled at the children, "Basil you've gotten so big! We'll have to put bricks on your head to keep you from growing!"
The red headed little boy's eyes widen worriedly, and his small hands reached up to cover his head as if to protect it from any ill intentioned bricks.
Relda laughed. "It's just an expression libeling. And Daphne, you're almost taller than me!"
Daphne flashed her a toothy smile. "It's so great to be back!" She gave her grandmother another quick squeeze, then dragged Basil into the house already calling for Red and Elvis.
"Sabrina, you get more lovely every time I see you." Relda pulled the almost fifteen-year-old in for a hug as well, kissing her forehead. Sabrina snickered to herself; the last time Relda had seen her was Christmas, when she had drove up from Ferryport Landing to their apartment for a week, unannounced of course.
"I missed you Granny." Sabrina said into her shoulder.
"And I you. Why don't you head inside and unpack?" Relda replied sunnily. Sabrina interpreted that as 'The grown-ups need to talk.'
"Hi Mom," Henry swooped down to give Relda a hug as Sabrina strode inside.
"How has she been?" Relda whispered as soon as she believed Sabrina was out of earshot.
Trying not to feel too left out, Sabrina familiarized herself with the slightly different interior to the Grimm house. Relda and Mr. Clay had done a good job reconstructing the house, even replacing some of the nick knacks Relda had lost in the madness. The couch had been moved to the other side of the living room, leaving more space for the numerous bookshelves. The family journals and various field guides had been mostly contained, but a few stray stacks lay here and there. On the walls were numerous pictures of the family, ranging age wise from Henry and Jake's childhood to Sabrina's most recent school pictures. Here and there were beautiful works of art, masks and intricate swords as well as paintings. Red seemed to be the prime color in most of the artwork one particularly beautiful painting caught Sabrina's eye. There was a dark room painted in various shades of gray, and a bright rose in a glass vase stood out dramatically from the rest of the picture.
"I am especially fond of that piece. Red improves every day." A deep scratchy voice came from behind Sabrina. She spun around quickly, faced by one of the few people who could sneak up on her, the only other being Snow Charming, and on an especially bad day, Veronica.
"Mr. Clay, how are you?"
"Very well, thank you." He gave her a deep nod. "I trust your trip was comfortable.
"As comfortable as it could be squished in the back of a Subaru with two energized wackos." Sabrina rolled her eyes. Mr. Clay gave her his equivalent of a smile; his expression became less severe and his watery blue eyes lightened imperceptibly to anyone but Relda and occasionally Sabrina.
"It is good to see you child." He nodded toward her again and hobbled back in the direction of his room. As Sabrina watched him leave, she couldn't help feeling a bit sad for the man. Ever since The Wolf had been thrown out of him, Mr. Clay had been left practically powerless after centuries of being one of the most feared Everafters in the world. But she knew he would except no pity, and quickly wiped the sympathetic look off her face in case he happened to turn around.
A high-pitched squeal came from the kitchen. Daphne marched out, pulling a young girl behind her. She looked around Daphne's age, with auburn, curly hair and a red paint splattered tank top. Clearly, the name Little Red Riding Hood fit well.
"I'm sharing with Red!" Daphne declared. "You get Dad's old room to yourself."
Sabrina silently cheered, glad they wouldn't have to share a bed again. Not only was Daphne an incredibly heavy sleeper, but Relda hadn't been lying when she said she'd gotten taller. All of her cute baby fat had begun to stretch into her height and Sabrina doubted that there would be room for them both.
"I'm going to go unpack. Help Basil into his room, okay?" Sabrina ascended the stairway after receiving Daphne's confirmation.
When she got into Henry's old room (Or what it had been replaced with...) Sabina tossed her bag on the bed and began unloading her clothes into a dresser. It was nice to be alone for the first time in several hours, and Sabrina took this time to pull her thoughts together. It hadn't been a long time since she'd been here, compared to how long it took her to find out 'here' existed or compared to her last stay, but it had been enough time to feel refreshed by the familiar and cozy surroundings.
Once she had gotten all of her things put where they belonged, laptop on the desk (It had taken forever to convince Henry and Veronica that it would be helpful in school.) extra clothes in the closet, Sabrina glanced at the full length mirror in the corner of the room. She changed a lot on the last three years, at least physically. Keeping up her training, Sabrina had joined volleyball, cross country, and a few martial arts classes giving her an athletic build. Any fat she had before she burned off and replaced with muscle. Sabrina's face looked even more like Veronica's, all cheekbones and pouty lips, except for her long blonde hair that she had pulled into a lazy bun that morning. She wore a pair of loose denim shorts and a graphic tee with what a funny-or at least sarcastic (Which was close enough by Sabrina's standards.)- joke sprawled across the front. She didn't bother to put on makeup that morning, and when she did it was only for special occasions or extremely natural looking. No matter what she claimed, what a certain fairy boy had said years ago stuck with her.
A pensive knock came from the door, and Sabrina vaulted over her bed. Standing outside was Red, an embarrassed expression on her face.
"Papa Canis wanted me to tell you it's dinner time." Red informed her quietly, but she sounded much more confident than the last time Sabrina had seen her.
"Hey Red," Sabrina gave her a rare smile, "I didn't get to talk to you before. How is the... meditation going."
The girl rose an eyebrow, a knowing look forming on her face. They both knew how it felt to be possessed by the evil spirit now dwelling in Red. "Really good. I'm able to keep myself calm if I get too angry, and I can even summon The Wolf's strength. It's been helpful with all the remodeling."
"That's great!" Both girls began to walk downstairs. "How's Pinocchio been?"
"Magnificent!" A somewhat haughty voice called from behind both of them. Sabrina repressed the urge to jump. That was the second person who had snuck up on her in the last day! She really needed to work on her sneak skills. Behind her was a somewhat familiar face. A young boy with a longish nose and freckles spewed across his face smiled up at her. He wore regular summer clothes, and held a large novel in his hand.
"Holy crap! Granny meant it when she said you got older. What are you now, ten?" Sabrina questioned, surprised.
"Approximately, yes. However, intellectually I am still far beyond my years. I have discovered I would rather age at a natural rate then progress into adulthood quickly. " Sabrina took note that even though he was still sprouting big words, he did not degrade anyone while doing it. That in itself was an improvement.
"Lieblings? Come join us!" Relda called from the kitchen.
"On our way!" Sabrina leaped down the stairs into the dining room. The rest of the family was there already, waiting to begin eating.
"Sorry, I was just catching up with Red and Pinocchio." Sabrina and the other two slipped into their respective seats.
On the table was another strange meal from the kitchen of Relda Grimm. There was what appeared to be a form of meatloaf, but it had a strange purple tinge. The dinner rolls were bright green with some sort of blue cheese. A bowl of applesauce was set to the side, but Sabrina knew better than to trust that, considering the last time she had 'applesauce' here it had tasted like bacon.
"We have some other guests joining us, but they called ahead and said its alright to begin eating, so dig in!" Relda passed the meatloaf to Daphne who began scooping up food with enthusiasm. Sabrina took a lot of salad, the only actual normal looking food at the table, but was unhappy to discover it had a suspiciously tuna-like taste. Small talk started up, little comments about the unusually hot weather and what had happen since everyone had seen each other last.
Sometime in the middle of the meal, a knock came on the door. Mr. Clay stood silently to go get it, brushing off Henry's protest. When he walked back into the dining room, he was being trailed by a tall blonde man with a crooked nose and sad eyes. Dispute the heat, he was wearing a big brown coat with bulging pockets.
"Hey family!" Jake smiled at the table.
"Uncle Jake!" Daphne cried happily, hopping out of her chair to give him a hug. "I haven't seen you since..."
"Since you began your trip!" Veronica interrupted quickly. Sabrina gave her a thankful look, knowing if Daphne had mentioned the war, unpleasant memories would have surfaced for everyone.
"What are you doing here? I thought you were in Belize!" Henry gave his brother a handshake as he stood up.
"I'm off for a couple of weeks, and decided I might as well drop by since you're all here." He gave all the adults a look. The unsaid meaning was really 'I came to figure out what's wrong with Sabrina.' The girl in question rolled her eyes. Where they really all going to act like there wasn't a problem? It was Sabrina's issue.
"Wait, if Uncle Jake is here does that mean..." Daphne began.
"You better believe it Marshmellow." An obnoxiously recognizable, though considerably lower voice quipped.
Sabrina silently groaned, her back had been to the door so she hadn't seen the teenage boy walk up behind Jake. She turned around slowly, taking in the first look of him in the last three year. His once round face had grown almost harshly angular and his messy blonde curls were arranged in a way that could have been described by some of the more boy crazy girls from Sabrina's school as "windswept." He had gotten ridiculously tall, to the point where he was looming over Sabrina's 5'5" (and a half!) by at least three inches. His green eyes (Sabrina refused to think of them as something like emerald or jade or something else equally stupid. She was not going to fall into that trap again.) were bright with mischief. He seemed to have gotten a new green sweatshirt, but it was just as dirty as the last. His mouth twitched into a cocky smirk and Sabrina could already feel a headache coming on.
"Miss me Grimm?" Puck asked snidely.
AN~ I know it's kinda slow, and it will probably by one of the shorter chapters, but what do you think?
QotW: I've never done these but they look like fun. Is this worth continuing? If no, why not? If yes, how will 'Brina react to seeing Puck after so long?