A/N:
Thanks to goldacharmed, Kathy, ANerdWhoWrites, Blondie 20000, Kajensen07 and Christine for the great reviews!
Jacob's thoughts roiled about, distracted and fragmented. He knew he needed to go and find some food to shut his pining stomach up. Yet, he wasn't sure what he should do. He had wandered down the mountain earlier to look, and that had ended in him being chased by two crazy hunters with guns.
Now, those two crazy hunters probably thought he wanted to eat them, no matter what he said.
Right from the start, they'd had their assumptions about him. Same as everyone else. He was a monster. The only difference here was that they already believed in monsters beforehand, making it easier for them to accept the vicious rumors.
Jacob was presumed dead, eaten by the giant beast that everyone thought he had become. He supposed, in a way, they were half right. He'd become a monster and the old him was gone. Now he focused on survival and defending himself when before he worried about college and sneaking out.
It felt like such a hopeless endeavor, trying to get Sam and Dean to stay. To listen and help him. He suspected he wouldn't find them when he returned, but he needed to get himself something to eat anyway. If they stayed, it'd be as much for their comfort as his own.
His usual source of food was a longer walk away. Jacob decided there was nothing for it, even though he'd cut into the supply quite a bit in the last few days. His traps weren't catching much other than people, which didn't do him any good whatsoever.
With a sigh, Jacob angled back in the direction of the little ranch he'd found. It was still daylight, but he'd managed it before. Cows couldn't run fast enough to escape his reach, and a few of them accounted for a decent enough meal. Surviving for another day. Everything had come down to surviving lately.
Surviving and, hopefully, getting back to normal someday. He had a rekindled hope that Sam and Dean might be able to help him. He couldn't risk scaring them off.
Then, the sound of metal clanging together echoed to his ears, and Jacob halted. His heart fluttered and he recounted his steps to recall where he had set the closest trap. If he caught something in that to eat, he wouldn't have to go as far and he could get back to camp. His stomach growled again in hopeful agreement as he changed his course to see what he had caught.
Even just a deer would be better than nothing. Something to hold him over until he could explain better without those fearful looks. He just needed to fix his latest mistake and maybe he'd get somewhere with the two of them.
When the trap was just ahead, Jacob stooped down and eagerly pushed the branches of a young maple tree aside to see what he'd caught.
Dean.
Oh, no.
Jacob's eyes were wide in the setting sunlight and he clenched his jaw. He stared through the bars at one of the only people to bother trying to listen to him, and saw all of his chances crumbling before his eyes. His hungry stomach growled again and he hated himself a little more, even as a tiny voice echoed through the air.
"Jacob. We're all friends here, right?"
The fear in that quiet little voice was like a bolt in Jacob's heart. He'd definitely put that fear there, every ounce of it. He shamefully recalled his hurried footsteps rushing back to the trap. How quickly he'd bent aside a tree just to check his quarry.
He didn't know Dean had followed him. He had thought he really might have caught something he could eat in that trap. Now, regardless of his principles, Dean thought he'd eat him anyway.
Jacob couldn't help but feel like he'd ruined everything. Maybe he shouldn't have gotten his hopes so high after all.
He let the tree go and sidled around so he could sit down heavily in front of the trap. He avoided looking at Dean, but he did answer his question while he faced the ground. "I think so," he said, not much hope in his voice. This was a well-rehearsed scene for him by now. The moment the trap opened, Dean would run away and Jacob would go right back to being on his own.
It was what life during the last few weeks had taught him to expect.
"Better get you out of there," he said hollowly. He reached out and grasped the top handle of the trap. It lifted easily in his grip, and Jacob carefully turned the whole thing so it would face away from him. No use making Dean feel more cornered than he already was.
From there, it was easy to unlatch the door and let it fall open. Jacob heaved a sigh and sat back, now keeping an eye on Dean to make sure he escaped the cage without issue. He would hate to see the little guy get hurt because he was in a rush to escape.
Dean didn't bolt the way Jacob expected. Instead, he edged his way to the front of the cage, looking out with a wary eye to be sure of where Jacob's hands were at all times. The sight of open air before him instead of the thick steel bars of the cage went a long way in relaxing some of the tension that had built up inside.
Once he was out, Dean turned towards the remorseful giant and lowered his machete down. "What were you thinking, bolting like that?" Dean demanded, trying to work the strain of fear out of his voice and replacing it with righteous indignation. "We can't have you out of sight, Jacob. If you really want our help, you have to accept that. Me or Sam will be with you at all times from now on. Whatever caused this, the fact is that you are the big hungry giant in the woods, and we can't take the risk of you wandering off and getting into trouble." He gestured pointedly with his machete to punctuate his sentences.
Jacob stared at Dean in confusion and surprise. He blinked slowly as, of all things, a lecture sank in. Dean hadn't stumbled out fearfully, he hadn't bolted to get his brother and try to regroup against the terrifying giant. He had calmly stepped out and started scolding someone twenty times his size.
Remaining subdued and gloomy, Jacob gathered his thoughts to answer. "I was just gonna go and get something to eat. I didn't ... I didn't want you to keep looking at me like that." The way he spoke, there was little doubt about the meaning of 'like that.' Like he was just a mindless monster, waiting to spring his deadly attack on them.
He was so tired of scaring people.
He reached out to pick up the trap once Dean was clear of it, and set it on his lap. With easy strength, Jacob began to take the whole contraption apart. Catching Dean was the last straw. Eventually he'd have to find the rest and take them apart, too. "I've caught more people than animals in these fucking things," he explained. "And, no, none of them ended up on the menu, either."
Dean sighed as he watched Jacob work for a few moments, his eyes drawn to the massive metal contraption that was wielded like it was a toy in huge hands. The distracting sound of the teenager's cavernous stomach rumbling didn't seem as dangerous now that Dean saw the contrition on his face.
"Look, Jacob," Dean said, gathering himself up. "I'm not sayin' it's right, but you have to remember you're a lot to take in. We've dealt with monsters that are only monsters at certain times… and sometimes they don't even know they're monsters."
There was a deep frown etched on his face, once more hating himself for the case against Madison. "Just a few weeks ago we found a werewolf. She was just minding her own business and got bit by a guy, giving her the same curse. She didn't even know she was sneaking out to snack on hearts until Sam stayed with her one night and he woke up when she transformed.
"It's not right, and it sure as hell ain't easy, but it's our job. We don't get paid to take chances with people's lives." Dean let out a barking laugh, tucking away his machete. "Hell, we don't even get paid to do any of this shit. If the police knew who we really were, we'd end up in jail."
Walking forward, Dean didn't hesitate to haul himself up into Jacob's knee so he was closer to the same level. The hands, so enormous and close by, halted their movements. Even the gale-like breaths that moved in and out of Jacob's chest paused. The thick fabric of the jeans offered plenty of handholds, and Dean stared up to catch Jacob's subdued gaze with his own intense look. Once he was up there, Dean stuck his hands casually in his pockets, the closest he'd come to relaxing his guard around the giant... around Jacob.
"We need to get back to your camp, and Sam. You need to tell us everything, and then we can see about finding you something to eat." He paused, realizing how finalJacob's actions with the trap looked. "Are you just givin' up on those traps now?"
Jacob only then remembered his task and took his eyes off Dean. His breathing returned to normal and he tried to pretend it wasn't completely strange to have someone the size of a finger standing on his knee while he dismantled the trap. If the trees around weren't all dwarfed by his bulk, Jacob would think he'd just met a forest fairy.
A forest fairy in a leather jacket and jeans, wrapped up with a bad attitude to match.
He shrugged once the last spring was undone and the trap lay in flat pieces on his lap. He rested his hands on the metal, lacking anything else to do with them. With Dean so close, he didn't want to risk throwing the little guy off his perch, especially after he bothered to climb up there in the first place.
"I should," he replied. "Maybe ... maybe tomorrow I'll go get the rest. They just cause more trouble than they help." He glanced aside to the maple tree he'd bent back to find Dean. The branches on one side were all bent or broken, and missing too many leaves. Every move from Jacob seemed to cause some kind of damage, and he was grateful he'd yet to actually hurt someone. Getting rid of the traps would help.
"I know that I got way bigger than anyone wants to deal with," he began, thinking about Dean's speech. 'A lot to take in' put it so mildly. He was a giant. "And I get that you have to watch out and all. I promise that if I do something that freaks you guys out, it's not on purpose. I just want to get back to normal and go home, if I can. I'm sorry for just walking off."
He turned his attention completely to Dean then, marveling briefly at the sight. A little tiny guy, so vulnerable around Jacob, and he was standing right on his knee. Jacob desperately hoped he wouldn't let that trust down.
"I guess I owe Sam an apology too," he admitted.
Dean nodded sharply and turned in place to hop down from Jacob's knee. When he saw he was a good distance off the ground, he changed tactics and just slid down the blue denim slope formed by Jacob's leg. "He's probably wondering what we're up to," he quipped lightly, starting to head in the direction he assumed he'd come from. Down within the trees, it was hard to spot the cliff that comprised Jacob's temporary home, and being in that trap had thrown off what little sense of direction he had in the forest.
In the thick underbrush, even Dean's footsteps made a good amount of noise, cushioned from the ground by dried and dead leaves that lay scattered and forgotten. Still he managed a jaunty swagger up until the point he realized he was heading in the wrong direction. "I hate camping," he grumbled, heading in the opposite direction past Jacob. Bobby Singer had tried to get the boys used to camping and hunting live game out in the forest when they were kids, but found that they only retained the lessons on tracking.
Jacob had to do his best to hide the amused glint in his eyes and keep it from showing in a smile. He remained still for a few more seconds and watched Dean march along in a direction that was only slightly more correct. If he didn't have Jacob around to help, he would probably skip right past the clearing by the cliff.
For all his determination, Dean could be entertaining. Jacob liked these moments much better than Dean firing a gun at his hand or brandishing a machete.
"Here," he said, before reaching out to scoop Dean right off the forest floor. The noise from the little guy's footsteps abruptly halted as Jacob lifted him up and cupped his hand close to his chest. "You'll draw every curious predator right to you if you wander around too much." He stood then, the pieces of the trap in one hand and Dean on the other. At his full height, his cliff was in easy view for both of them.
Dean scowled from his place in Jacob's hand, pushing himself back up from his initial tumble to the center of Jacob's palm. "Can't you give some warning the next time you feel like grabbing me off the ground?" he griped. He had to push the quarter back into his duffel to keep it from falling out.
The good part about traveling by giant had to be the fact that they wouldn't get lost, and it took much less time. Dean eyed the ground under them that just one step could cover, now that he was growing adjusted to the vertiginous sensation of flying through the air.
Animals like bears or coyotes, maybe even regular wolves hadn't factored into Dean's planning for their trip in the park. "Are there a lot of coyotes around here?" he asked. On a normal hunt, such a mundane danger wouldn't apply. This hunt was far from normal.
Jacob glanced down and made sure Dean was secure on his hand. While he pondered his answer and remembered at the last second not to shrug, he noted the little guy's request. He hadn't really thought about how startling his movements could be. To him, he was simply standing up. He recalled their terror when he first wrapped his fists around them and resolved to be better about that. It was easy to forget that they saw everything very differently from him now.
"I've seen a few coyotes wandering around, but I think I scared most of 'em away," he replied. "They don't want to fight me, I guess." One less thing to worry about.
In little time, they reached the clearing, but Jacob paused just before exiting the treeline. Sam wasn't where he'd last been. "Um. Sam?" he called, knowing his approach was long announced by his footsteps. Did he follow Dean? The sobering thought drew Jacob's gaze down to his boots.
Sam, on the other hand, though he respected Jacob's size, especially after being trapped in those hands, wasn't worried a bit. He was out of the center of the clearing, relaxing against the gigantic backpack with his own bag and the mysterious Sylvan Lake saddle lying next to him.
As Jacob paused to scan the ground for him, Sam jumped to his feet to wave at the others, impressed to see that Jacob had gotten Dean in his hand a second time. As unbelievable as a giant in the forest was, Sam had a harder time believing that Dean would go willingly onto a hand to be carried through the air.
Sam snatched up the saddle in one hand and had it dangling by his side as he strolled into the center of the clearing. "I think you might have some explaining for us," he called up to the giant.
Jacob waited until Sam was done moving before he stepped forward. He had never realized how weird it felt to walk around with such small people down on the ground. If he wasn't looking right at Sam, it was possible he'd miss him entirely. He didn't like that at all.
He crouched down to let Dean back onto solid ground, and then finally realized what Sam had in his hand. Jacob's expression turned sheepish yet again and he sat down with a quake of the earth, setting the dismantled trap next to himself and staring down at the pair.
"I wasn't sure what else to do with that, so I just kept it," he said, almost ready for more scolding of some kind from them. It was park property, after all.
Dean walked casually over to his younger brother, squinting slightly as he realized as well what it was for. "Is that for a pony?" he asked.
Sam dropped it on the ground between them. "Yeah, for one of the ponies you can ride in the park. There's trails all through the area." He looked up at Jacob. "One of the people you caught in your trap… she had a pony." He remembered that part coming up a few times during their research and discussions.
There was no mistaking the disapproval in his voice. "You kept the pony, didn't you?"
A/N
It's great to see everyone's enjoying the story! ^^ Things are only going to get more interesting from here.
Next: August 1st, 2018 at 9pm est
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