Almost four hours had passed, and Dean was once again sitting in the leather recliner facing Sam, who still had a sleeping Morana curled up in his lap. Ruby was sitting opposite Sam, so that Bobby was sitting in the other recliner. Slow movements and low murmuring from Sam prevented Morana from simultaneously waking and panicking. Low conversations were spoken, in an attempt to let Morana get as much nourishing sleep as possible—she had a lot of healing to do. Dean could see Sam slowly getting agitated from sitting in the same position for so long, little things that resulted from years of working and living with someone: slighter jerk of the foot, slight shift of the shoulders—movements so minute that they didn't disturb the sleeping Omega. Dean shifted his gaze to watch Morana, noticing how she nuzzled her nose into the junction of Sam's shoulder every time he ran his hand down her back or arm, how she would breathe just a fraction deeper afterwards. How Sam would give a tiny smile each time, prompting him to do it again mere seconds later. He was so focused on watching the two that he missed Bobby's question—or statement—until he was hit on the shoulder with the older man's baseball cap. He shot a glare at Ruby as she gave a quiet laugh.
"What?" he said with a little force.
"I asked if you wanted me to call in some food or if you were planning on making lunch anytime soon." Bobby answered, replacing his worn cap back on his balding head.
"Why do I always have to cook? Breakfast and burgers are all I know how to cook."
"That's more than some of us. I'm pretty sure Bobby burnt the water trying to make oatmeal just last week." Sam added softly. Ruby smiled as Bobby glared at Sam. They were cut short of any further discussion when a voice sounded from the doorway.
"We brought sandwiches, hope you boys are hungry!" Dean could hardly track Morana's movements: one second she was curled up, asleep on Sam's lap, the next she was across the room cowering in the corner, a pained whine emanating from her as she rocked viciously. Ruby and Sam jumped nearly simultaneously and rushed towards the panicked girl, as Bobby stood to inform the new arrivals. Dean stood, but stayed rooted to the spot as he watched Sam and Ruby crouch near Morana, soothing words being spoken, Ruby's hand settling on her head in an attempt to stop the rocking; it looked as though she had hit her head against the wall as she rocked back. He couldn't see what Sam did, but the whining had stopped, although she still was shaking like a leaf. Knowing he couldn't do anything to help, he turned to help Bobby, who he found talking to Ellen and Jo just outside the kitchen.
"What do you mean they found a female Omega? Don't you know how rare those are?" Ellen's voice was forcefully quiet.
"You're not going to just miraculously find one on a random whorehouse bust!" Jo's on the other hand was a near screech.
"Quiet!" Dean hadn't intended to use his Alpha voice, but he did and both females turned to look at him. He could see Jo's lips twitch at the command: as a fellow Alpha she didn't appreciate the fact that he had more authority simply because he was male. "I will answer your questions to the best of my ability, but only if you can stay level-headed enough to not spook the already skittish Omega that we rescued." His emphasis hit right were he wanted with Ellen. Her look changed to that of worry as she realized the situation. Dean jerked his head towards the kitchen and waited until all three had entered before walking in himself. "One at a time, starting with Ellen." He saw the small twitch of Jo's lips.
"She's an Omega? You do realize how rare those are, and why did you bring her here?"
"Yes, I do know how rare female Omegas are, and yes, she is one. As to the latter question, she has nowhere to go. And she's pretty attached to Sam. Like her bolting at the sound of your voice was the first time I've seen her let Sam not be near her." He turned his gaze towards Jo, whose amber eyes held daggers. He could see her trying to formulate an appropriate question based on what he had just shared.
"You said she's skittish. Any reason as to why?" her clipped tone barely held back the anger at the male Alpha in front of her.
"Long story short, she had a heat enhancer implanted, violent interactions with males, add it all up and you get one messed up psyche. The Beta we rescued, Ruby, she was Morana's only friend in there, attempted to help as much as she could, and we decided that it would be best if they came here, rather than being thrown out on the streets. Give Morana time to adjust and recover from her ordeal." He looked back at Ellen.
"Why Sam? I'm assuming she's 'fraid of all Alphas and Betas." Ellen understood the delicate situation with those they rescued from the whorehouses. Dean sighed before looking at Bobby.
"I've got a theory." Ellen just pointedly looked at him. "Soulmates." Ellen's eyes flew wide at the word, while Jo let out a bark of a laugh.
"Baby Sammy's got a soulmate? Hell must have frozen over."
"Joanna Beth. If you can't behave go to your room." Ellen may not be an Alpha, but she was a mother; just as scary if you asked Dean, not that he'd ever admit it. "And besides, you can't call him a baby, he's two years older than you. If anything you're the baby here." They all watched as Jo's pout became more pronounced with her mother's words. The flare of her nose is what made Dean smirk; she only did that when she was truly annoyed.
"So what are we supposed to do? If she's jumpy around us, how can we help?" Jo asked, not waiting for her turn to be acknowledged.
"She can handle my presence, although it took a little. I think if you give her time and space, she will eventually warm up to you. Until then, just be aware of her body language. She hasn't said one word, and according to Ruby, she stopped talking a while ago. It's going to take time for her to relax and find her voice." He looked up to see Ellen staring at him with admiration. "What?"
"I always tend to forget that you have psychiatric training." It was true. Before he dropped out of school to help Bobby with his first official case, he was on track to being a certified grief counselor. In truth, he tended to forget that his extensive knowledge of the human psyche wasn't common knowledge; he continued to read the current publications of psychology and knows everything a certified counselor knows, if not more. Sam, on the other hand, was on his way to being a lawyer. Both had entered college at a younger age than everyone else, meaning that they would have gotten their degrees at 20 rather than 22. He wasn't positive, but he was pretty sure that Sam finished the undergraduate degree online a couple of years ago, although to be a professional lawyer, he would have had to have gone through another four to six years post-grad.
"Gives us an advantage if they think Sam and I are dumb high school dropouts. I mean, someone who wanted to be a lawyer and can bench press 230 without breaking a sweat and someone who knows how the human psyche works to the point that counterstrategies are my forte is a definite advantage." He winked at Ellen, causing her to laugh. "But seriously, just give her space, try not to exert any sort of dominance behaviors around her, slow movements and quiet voices would be best. She's really weak right now, so she's going to be relying on Sam for a lot of things; just let him take care of Morana unless he comes to you. If we keep this constant, she'll learn to trust you. Trust all of us. But the most important thing right now is that we have to show her we aren't going to hurt her. As long as we can constantly reassure her that no one here will hurt her, her healing should be relatively quick." He watched all three nod their heads in agreement. He turned to walk back to the living room, rubbing his hands down his face. The next few months were going to be long.
A/N: Woo! New chapter. And I can't spell today to save my life.
As always: reviews would be appreciated! Until next time :)
