Chapter 4- The Hitch-Dude, this chick is so not Tinkerbelle
Disclaimer: Don't own 'em, just love 'em. Wish ta 'ell I worked for Kripke.
(For my readers this chapter keeps getting mysteriously deleated every few weeks, so it has been re-written several times from the original. I hope I got all the previous tweaking right. Don't know how the black hole keeps finding it-must be the Supernatural nature or I've pisssed the real fairies off somehow.)
888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888
AH-rii saw the fatigue settle on the two men and rose to say, "You both must be very tired, let me show you up to your rest areas so you can get some much-needed sleep. We will be able to strategize tomorrow."
They grabbed their duffels and followed AH-rii out to the entrance area and up one of the curving staircases to the loft.
The entire loft was a sweeping semi-circle landing. Intertwined branches provided the span of railing that connected the two opposite staircases. And a comfortable distance from the landing were the sleeping quarters; defined by ceiling to floor cascades of leaves that made up all the walls.
AH-rii came up to the first area and parted the curtain of leaves. "Sam I think you will find this comfortable." Inside the ambient light was softer and in the center of the room a big square pad rested on the floor. The bed was made to accommodate his larger frame, pillow, and sheets and blanket all various shades of green and it looked soo good to him. Before he ducked in Sam turned and bent down to be eye level to AH-rii and said, "Thanks for…everything today."
" Awe, he just can't say a simple g'night without putting a chick spin on it." Teased Dean.
AH-rii smirked and gave Sam's cheek a peck and said in mock formality, "You are most entirely welcome Samuel Winchester."
Sam blushed as he stood back up and fired a last retort to his brother, "G'night jerk.
Dean responded with, "night… bitch." And smiling, Sam let the drape of leaves close.
Just a few paces further AH-rii parted the leaves to the next area and said to Dean, "This will be yours." The interior was the same as Sam's. The big bed taking up much of the floor space. Dean looked down at AH-rii's up turned face and said, "And you're going to be….?"
AH-rii's smirk widened into a grin, "I will be in the next compartment over."
Dean looked to his right; Sam was on one side of him and to his left AH-rii. Strategically they had him sandwiched protectively in the middle. It was the kind of bed arrangement his Dad used to make when they were growing up only this time he was the one in the middle instead of Sam. What the Hell, he thought, he'd swap places tomorrow night but tonight he was just too damn tired. " Well, night then." He said but turned to say. "And uh…AH-rii…. Thanks."
It was the first time he had said her name.
Dean started to go and AH-rii suddenly thought (wait… say something back quick…") "UH, wait."
Dean turned back and she looked into his green eyes, framed oh so captivatingly in dark lashes those lashes are so thick they cast their own shadow for sprites sake! and she said, "When you call your brother 'Bitch' that is a term of affection right?"
Dean stood there holding the duffle in front him and smiled that radiant smile and said, "Yeah…yes it is."
AH-rii's up turned face took on a quizzical look and she said, "So back at the Motel… when you called me a bitch that was affectionate too?"
Dean's eyebrows shot up and he reached one hand back behind his neck, and began to rub it slowly as AH-rii looked up at him with those ocean blue eyes of hers and the sweetest expression of trust like she was waiting to hang on to his every word.
His mind back peddled furiously (come on Man, think fast!), "Well yeah…sorta. Its like slang… we…uh… use it for all kinds of circumstances." (smile again, bigger, BIGGER this time-go for the dazzel!)
" Well, in that case," She paused, " night bitch!" And she turned silently giggling into her hand thinking in a sing/song inner voice,('Love to make that man squirm!') as she disappeared behind the last curtain of leaves.
Dean ducked behind his and frowned. He had the unsettling feeling that he had just been played….by a fairy. And as he slipped himself between the softest sheets that ever touched his skin his last sleepy thought was of AH-rii, " yep, gonna hafta keep my eye on her."
AH-rri's smile lasted until she had crossed her room. And then the thought that had been troubling her made her turn back. She stood a moment and then resolved to action she walked back out onto the landing.
88888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888
Sam had drifted into sleep the moment his head had hit the pillow but something, someone was calling to him... bringing him back. His eyes fluttered open and he was startled to see a small figure in the shadows by the foot of the bed.
AH-rii moved out from the dimmness and into his vision; she was holding an object in her hand, pointing it at him. A weapon?! Sam sat bolt upright but before he could shout...
AH-rii put her finger to her lips." SSHH, I don't want to wake Dean. I need you to see this. She took the object spun it around and held it out for him to take. It was one of the Soul Detectors they had used earlier. He looked down at it and back at AH-rii confused."
"Remember when I adjusted the dial and pointed it at you tonight?" AH-rii whisperd, " This is the reading I had gotten off you."
Sam looked down again. It read 72, the same reading that Dean had joked about 'C Human' "Yeah, so I'm average" (he so did not want to be woken up and reminded of that.)
" No," AH-rii hisssed, " use the scroll down ball by your thumb and get the rest of the reading."
Sam hadn't even noticed that ball before and he moved his thumb down. The screen had added another numeric reading to his 72 666! And his hand sprung open up like he was holding something crawly and poisonous nearly dropping the detector on the floor.
AH-ri calmly took the device out of his hand and said, "In light of this development we need to talk." And she pushed the button on her wrist that created the force field containment circle and the bright shimmery curtain suddenly encircled Sam.
" Sorry Sam, you understand that I can't risk letting her escape?" the sound of pity was unmistakeable in the fairy's voice.
Sam sat frozen.
AH-rii stood and put her hands on her hips.
Then she started to pace before him, " You're a walking bug Sam."
He flinched that she thought so little of him.
" No, what I mean is that you picked up a stowaway during your short stay on the other side and I bet it is the crossroads demon that Dean dealt with."
She added, "Those charms that you wear around your neck protect you and your brother against possession. I believe it was her plan to possess you fully but she was only able to get her foot in the door –so to speak. But she still had you for her eyes and ears."
Sam blanched and looked down at his chest-she was here, now IN ME!!???
AH-rii looked directly in his eyes and said, " Everything you say and see goes directly to her. That's how she would know immediately if you and Dean tried to weasel out. Using one loved one to harm another is a very old trick of theirs. In fact she knows we're having this conversation right now-"Don't you- spawn?"
Sam hung his head as rage, fear and despair crashed together in his heart, they were so screwed and it would be all his fault. He clenched his teeth against his anguish and said haltingly, "Dean's not …safe, if she knows that she can't have him…what, she'd kill him ? Me? " Clutching his head he felt an overwhelming sense of self-loathing and guilt at that moment. Why hadn't he known-sensed something was wrong. He turned his head away from her to hide his shame and a moment later when he turned back his tear-streaked face looked up at her.
AH-rii thought at that moment he looked so young, so lost as he faced a hunters worst nightmare-one of the monsters was inside him!
Sam's anguished tear streaked face looked up from the bed and a sudden coldness filled his eyes. In a low menacing voice he said, "I….WANT….HER…OUT!"
AH-rii's usually animated face had become still, expressionless. " Not just yet. I want you to use her the same way she's used you this whole year, see with her eyes Sam, look into her blackened soul and find out what she's going to do next. Do this and you can protect Dean."
Sam tightened his jaw in a moment of resolve and said, "Can you knock me out? I don't want that bitch getting any more Intel tonight if I can help it."
" Yes, that would be best, no sense letting her make you loose sleep." And she gave him a little sad smile.
Sam gave her a weak smile back.
AH-rii thought, ' he's a brave one this one, under extraordinary circumstances and he's still keeping his head'.
Sam reached out toward her and pressed his large hand against the force field, and on the other side AH-rii reached out with her small hand did the same.
"I won't leave you." She said and pulled her weapon out from behind her, set it for stun and pointed it saying, "This is going to hurt a bit."
Sam slid down between the covers and folded them back leaving his chest bare, he looked up into her eyes again and nodded once. A bright light punched through the force field and hit him in the chest. He grimaced in pain as his body arched upward, then peace descended upon him and he lay still.
"DROP IT" Said a voice behind her.
It was Dean and he sounded pissed.
AH-rii let her weapon fall from her fingers and with her back still to him said, "Oh good you're up."
Dean slid into the room and said," Kick it over."
AH-rii did and said, "Can I turn around now?"
Dean picked up the weapon and tucked it behind his back saying, "Put your hands on top of your head first... and turn slowly."
AH-rii did and when she faced him a little gasp escaped her. Dean was standing less than four feet away from her pointing a shotgun right at her face. The two big black circles of thedouble barrel loomed in her vision; at this distance it would be a kill shot if he pulled the trigger. But that wasn't what really made her gasp. Like his younger brother he went to bed shirtless and the soft light of the sleep chamber highlighted every curve and angle of his muscle-tensed torso.
A thought of other things flitted through her head momentarily but was swatted away by Dean's angry voice." What… did… you… do to him?"
AH-rii replied in a tired voice, "I helped him sleep."
"And you had to put him in a demon cage for that?"
"It was the only way to secure the crossroads demon that possesses him." AH-rii locked her gaze upon the anger in his eyes"
"What do you mean possess…", Dean hissed, "He's not possessed-we've got protection against…."
" I know," She hissed back, " I know-but they only work if the demon is outside trying to get in."
" What's that supposed to mean?" He growled.
" I need you to see something."was her weary reply.
Dean tensed and said, " I can see every thing I need to right here…"
"Dean, I need you to take the soul detector off my belt and take a reading off him."
He refused to drop his guard to any fairy tricks, " I'm not putting my gun down-I've already seen the reading- he's average…so what?"
AH-rii's tone was filled with sarcasim, "He's nowhere near average. He's not alone, your demon hitched a ride back through the mark he's got when you brought him back over."
Dean had kept his firing stance firm and his eyes riveted to her, but now, flicked a glance over to his brother lying peacefully in bed. He checked the rhythmic movement of Sam's breathing and noted that he did not seem to be in distress. Locking his eyes back on her he said, "How do you know it's my demon?"
"I don't," She concided, " and the soul detector can't distinguish one demon from another, it just tells you that one is in there. But it makes perverse sense doesn't it? How better to monitor whether you try to break the deal than to use the eyes and ears of your own brother against you."
Dean began to lower the gun. He looked stricken. 'What have I done to Sammy?' I was supposed to keep him safe! Selfish, couldn't to let go… I've infested my little brother with one of them!
AH-rii said softly, "Dean…I'm letting my arms down now."
Dean was still looking at Sam when he uncocked the gun and walked toward the circle. He lifted up his right hand and gently pressed his palm against the shimmering barrier. He could see that Sam's face still had tears that had not yet dried on it. 'Oh Sammy,' he thought, 'what have I done to you?' With his voice cracking Dean asked, "How'd he take it?"
AH-rii moved toward him and stood by his side, both gazing at Sam as she answered, "Bravest thing I ever saw."
Dean closed his eyes against the tears and let his head rest against the field, his face pinched in rage with himself.
Worry filled her eyes when she looked up and saw the ugly look upon his face, " Dean…?"
The rage inside him spilled over to her, as his face glared back as he growled, "I saw you shoot him."
AH-rii spoke soothingly as she answered, " He asked me to knock him out so she couldn't get any more Intel from him. He's quite a warrior your brother; took a stun to the chest just to keep you safe from any more of her tricks. And now he's resting-Dean-building up his strength for what ever may come tomorrow."
Dean's anger had dropped down to sober apprehension and he said, " Tomorrow? Time's not up on the deal for another two weeks."
"We figured that she knows now there is no deal, but that's not going to stop her from exacting revenge on you. I figure we've got for as long as he's out."
Dean and AH-rii both looked down on Sam's recumbent form then AH-rii looked up at Deans haggard face.
" I've got some elixir that will make sleep come but not so deep that you can't be woken." Dean didn't respond he just stood watching Sam's even breathing. AH-rii needed to say someting that would ease the pain etched upon Dean's face, she wanted to do anything that would lighten the burden on his heart, "Would you like me to remove the wall that separates your rooms? I can even modify your bed to allow you to sit up and face him…would you like that?"
His emotions drained Dean turned to her with a blank face and just nodded.
"Then I'll need the control back." And she held out her hand to him.
It took a moment for Dean to realize that the control was also the weapon he disarmed her of. He cast aside thoughts that she meant to harm them, hell, if she'd wanted to she could have done so when they first met. So he reached around behind his back and pulled it out from the waistband of his sweats and handed it to her.
With a few motions of the control AH-rii raised the wall and had the bed repositioned. She moved to the side of it and turned down the covers and said, "Dean climb in."
And a few moments later AH-rii was at his side offering him a steaming cup of tea." Here drink this and you'll rest-you have to be sharp for when he wakes-he will need you strong….we ALL will."
At that last statement Dean looked into her eyes. 'The ocean's color before a storm,' he thought, 'and there sure as hell gonna to be a storm tomorrow.' AH-rii gazed back as he took the cup from her, their fingers brushed lightly in the hand off and he could have sworn he saw her pupils widen a moment.
She turned to move to the other side of the circle and Dean said, "Aren't you going to your room?"
"NO," She answered brusquely, " I promised him I'd stay," gesturing with her chin toward Sam.
Dean saw that she meant to keep a vigil of her own over Sam and patted the space on the bed beside him and said in a voice full of weariness "Stay here…"
For a fraction of a second that seemed to stretch on forever AH-rii could not move. She was torn by the duty she must serve and the attraction that drew her to him. With his bare chest softly revealed by the shimmering light of the circle and his eyes half closed by sleep he looked so vunerable, so inviting. 'Memorize this moment for all the promises of what could be AH-rii,' she thought. She took a breath and started to move toward him when she heard a soft snore come from Dean and she stopped… sighing deeply. 'AH, well tis probably for the best, still…mores the pity.'
Moving over to the other side of the bed and she carefully sat next to him. She gently took the empty tea mug from his hand and put it on the floor. Then ever so slowly reclined with her head on his thigh. For a few minutes she let his scent fill her senses and his closeness bath her in warmth. She looked at Sam sleeping inside the curtain of light and thought again of the remarkable bravery and devotion the two brothers shared. These humans…
Next-The Plan
Please let me have a taste of your thoughts-they are as savory as food for this starving writers' dreams.