Chapter 9

The weekly Monday pick ups become more and more frequent as their relationship progresses. Their dates become more and more frequent as June comes and goes. They start opening up to each other more as their surprisingly easily-formed bond strengthens.

Isabella knows that Loki was married before and had three kids. She also knows that that relationship hurt him deeply and it's going to be a while before he opens up. She's okay with that, because her last relationship nearly killed her. She needs to be sure they both get through this okay. Especially because he's intelligent, has the best sense of humor that makes her laugh no matter what mood she's in, and he cares for her. That's the only thing keeping her from running.

Loki knows that Isabella has been a abused for most of her life, especially in her last relationship that caused her to retreat, though to what extent she hasn't felt safe enough to share. He doesn't mind if she shares everything or not, her abuse doesn't change the fact that she's beautiful, funny, intelligent and has a heart bigger than Texas. She just hides it so it won't be hurt again. He thinks it's time to meet the family.

...

"Isabella..." Loki starts off, assuming his usual position of elbows on the counter watching her clean up for the night. As it's the third Friday of the month, she has to categorize the shipments for the month for her records.

"Yes, dear?" She says, only half-paying attention as she writes in the numbers of the bar codes for each crate in her account book.

"I was wondering if you wanted to come with me to movie night tonight?" He says, looking at her face in hopes of getting a positive reaction.

Isabella freezes mid-number when she hears that, turning to face him. "What? You want me to go to movie night with you and the Winchesters and co.?"

"Yes, if you'd be amenable." Loki says cautiously, trying to figure out how freaked out she is and how to calm her down.

"That-that's tonight. I don't even have anything prepared. They don't even like me- Wait, do they like me now that we're like, a thing?- Never mind, what am I even supposed to bring? Or wear? What do I say? What if they just stare at me, silently judging because they hit on me just as I was recovering from Cooper and I was really, really bitchy and that's why they don't like me." Isabella replies, having a panic attack complete with pacing, flailing arms and a lack of air.

"Isabella, Isabella, Isabella, flora." Loki tries cutting in, gently griping her hands and resting his forehead on hers, encouraging her to breath with him. They stay like that until Isabella stops shaking and relaxes against him, though still biting her lip hard enough to draw blood. "Everything will be alright, don't worry. They don't hate you, I promise. You provide us with so many of your experiments that they aren't expecting anything tonight. You don't have to go if you don't want to, we can just stay in and see what's on TV, okay? Just take a deep breath and we'll figure it out together, hmm?"

Isabella nods, breathing in deeply, leaning so her forehead is resting against his shoulder, Loki wrapping his arms around her and encouraging her cuddling. "Do you think that we're at that point though? Meeting the family? We've only been dating for a month..."

Loki stiffens and pulls back to face her, asking carefully, "Are we going too fast? I just thought-"

"No! No, we aren't going too fast! I just wanted to make sure we're on the same page." She hurries to explain, hands flexing from where they are resting against his shoulder. "It's just- I thought we were at that point, sure we've only been dating for a month, but when I'm with you, everything is so easy. We just fit together, like two missing puzzle pieces in a 2000 piece jigsaw puzzle. I wasn't sure if you thought we were, and I didn't want to push you away-"

"Don't worry about that." He reassures, pressing a kiss to her forehead. "You pushing me away is as likely as Dean not loving bacon cheeseburgers alright?"

Isabella giggles slightly and relaxes further into him, thinking over what to do. Deciding, she nods and says, "I'll go tonight. Just let me whip something up, change, take care of theses shipments and I'll meet you there, alright? I've got the cataloging to finish and preparing the bakery for tomorrow..."

Not wanting to leave her here, but also to wanting to crowd her, Loki nods and kisses her quickly, "I'll see you there soon. Just call me if you need directions or something."

Isabella agrees with a smile and a kiss on the cheek, waving at him as he leaves. Turning back to her cataloging, she starts thinking about a little treat to make for them.

...

A little over an hour later

"Hey Lucy, when is your girlfriend coming? We're almost done with the food." Dean calls from the kitchen as he finishes frying up the burgers, some with cheese, the lettuce, tomato, pickles and a few other things having been chopped up and served on a plate. There is bacon frying in another pan for the burgers as well. Loki and Sam are preparing the selection of movies/TV shows which are, Star Trek: The Original Series, Harry Potter, (1-6), and Lord of the Rings.

"She'll be here in a couple more minutes, she had to finish up some paperwork for the bakery shipment that came in." Loki calls, rolling his eyes.

"Yeah Dean, get off his back, she'll get here when she gets here; don't worry, you'll still get to eat." Charlie scolds, putting the many bags of popped popcorn into 3 large bowls, one for each couch. Dean grunts his response.

The burgers are done and everyone is situated on the three couches by the time Isabella's car rolls into the driveway. Loki smiles, a bit relieved, and shoots Dean a warning look to play nice. Dean pulls a face at being the one he shoots a glare to but nods, Cas rolling his eyes and whispering something in Dean's ear.

Loki looks away from the couple, opening the door for Isabella. He smiles and looks her up and down, smiling in appreciation as per usual.

"I'm so sorry I'm late, there was a lot more to do than I thought. Plus I had to make something for tonight and I had to feed Shadow and change out my bakery clothes, plus I really need to go pee. Do you have anywhere where I can set this down?" Isabella says in a rush, holding up a pan covered with foil. She's wearing a sleeveless dark turquoise collared shirt, light wash jeans and tan Bobs with memory foam.

"Of course, let me show you to the kitchen, then the bathroom." Loki says, wrapping an arm around her waist, "I hope you're hungry, we made a lot of food. We even got some soda and water for you because you can't drink beer."

"Thank you," She says, still having to tiptoe to kiss his cheek despite being a step ahead. They talk a little more as Loki shows her where the upstairs bathroom is.

Charlie whistles slightly from next to Bobby on the 3-people couch left of the TV, saying once the couple is out of earshot, "No matter what you may think of her, she sure knows how to dress. I wonder if she can help me pick out something for this uptight, important people conference Gilda is dragging me to next week."

Jessica, Sam's girlfriend, nods in agreement from the center couch that seats 4 comfortably, "I know, we need to drag her shopping with us soon."

Sam rolls his eyes and nudges his girlfriend gently, "Spending your whole paycheck in the process."

Jess shoves him playfully in return and says seriously, "Some things just need to be done."

Loki comes back into the living room, sitting in his previous spot by Sam and Jess, telling them, "She should be right out. I told her the selection and she wants to start with Harry Potter."

The group has a ripple of agreement, getting things ready with much teasing and shoving. The food is being distributed when Isabella bounces down the stairs.

Loki smiles at her and gestures her to come and grab what she wants from the formidable feast spread out on the kitchen table: Burgers, some with cheese, bacon on the side, Nachos on two huge plates, 3 different types of chips, many packages of red vines and chocolate candies, three bowls of popcorn, and an array of beers, sodas and water in the cooler to the right of the table.

She looks on with wide eyes, whispering to him, "I don't think I'll be able to eat so much."

Loki squeezes her shoulder reassuringly, "Eat what you can, and a little more. Don't worry, these people have bottomless stomachs, all the food will be eaten."

"Now that I believe." Isabella replies with a little snark, raising an eyebrow playfully at him. "I have seen you eat before, you know."

Loki pretends to be offended and the two carry on like that, the others looking over with varying expressions of "Aww, they are so adorable!" and "Ugh, let's just get on with the movie already."


Once everyone has their food and is seated, Sam presses the play button for the first movie. Isabella cuddles close to Loki, working her way through her burger slowly as they watch the movies.

She puts the half-eaten burger on the table, unable to eat anymore. Loki looks worriedly at her, silently asking if she feels alright, to which she nods and mouths, placing a hand gently on her stomach, 'Too heavy for me.'

He nods in understanding, a bit worried at how much- or rather, how little- she is eating. She started to eat more leading up to the evening where she told him a quick summary of her life, so he knows she has trouble eating when she's extremely upset or riddled with strong emotions, but he thought she was doing better. He is actively trying to get her to eat more when he can, but he isn't always around to help.

The first movie ends without Isabella picking up her remaining burger. Loki frowns slightly and looks at her, asking softly, "Are you okay? You're not eating as much."

"Yeah, I'm fine, just not hungry." She insists, smiling reassuringly, although that falls a little flat.

The god's frown deepens, then gets up from the couch and takes her hand. She follows him, grabbing their plates so it looks like they are going to get more food.

"Why aren't you eating as much? Does this freak you out to much? You didn't have to come if you are uncomfortable, you wouldn't have hurt my feelings, I promise." Loki says lowly, seating her on a kitchen chair and sitting across from her, her hands in his. "Did something happen with Magnus and his wife? Can they still come for 4th of July?"

Isa sighs slightly, running a hand through her hair, then remembers she has it up and smooths it down instead. "They're fine, it's just... The company where I get the dairy and dry goods for the bakery has a new manager that is a completely horrible. He called and- He questions every decision I made and had the audacity to change my order to his "better one." To add to that, he constantly tries to get my personal number and schedule a day during the week that we could discuss "business." It's absolutely horrendous."

"But that's not all, right?" Loki says, squeezing her hands softly, both not noticing the family meeting outside the door of the kitchen listening to their conversation.

"No, he-he also said that if I didn't listen to his "advice" then he would cut ties with me and my business. Their business is the only one that can provide everything that I need in the timely manner that I need it. I have to make the order every 3 weeks because if not, then the materials don't get used and it's a waste of resources and money. It's quite frustrating." Isabella says, looking down at their hands and biting her lip.

"Well, you know that you could always threaten to sue." Sam comments from the doorway, the couple jumping slightly, puckered skin which indicates a scar showing as she turns more into the light.

"I don't exactly know a lawyer who would take this lost cause." Isa says derisively, turning to face the family, crossing her legs. "Usually, judges tend to order the business to conform or settle with the company. Besides, I can barely afford a good lawyer with all my business and personal expenses."

"I'll take it," Sam shrugs, "Besides, this guy sounds like a spineless coward, so the threat of the law for threatening in the name of the company is bound to get him scared off."

"Well, thank you Sam. I appreciate you offering to do that for me." Isabella says with a shy smile. "Especially considering how our previous interactions have gone."

Sam shrugs, "You're family, and family sticks up for family. Anyways, I was a little inappropriate and crossed a couple boundaries I shouldn't have, it's all forgotten."

Loki feels a burden lift from his chest at that, happy to know that he won't have to choose between Isabella and his family if they were to get that serious.

"Yup, look at what they did for me. I helped them out a couple of times when Dick Roman was on a bloodthirsty rampage for companies and they helped me get out a sticky situation when Roman found out I hacked into their files." Charlie pipes up, then asks, "Why do you have a scar on your shoulder?"

Shocked, Isabella checks to see if it's showing and grimaces. Bobby says gruffly, "You don't have to say anything if you don't want to Isabella."

"You know her full history?" Loki asks, startled at that.

"Of course, ya idjit. Who do you think helped her come here?" Bobby intones with a 'duh' expression on his face.

"Are we missing something here?" Dean asks, everyone but Isabella, Loki and Bobby confused.

The three share a look, communicating silently which annoy the other 5 members of the clan. Isabella sighs and says, "Alright, alright, I'll tell you a little bit, not the complete story. The scar came from my ex-boyfriend after a particularly bad "teaching" session. I was hospitalized, not for the first time, with a fractured rib, minor internal bruising, and of course, a deep cut which became the scar. Later, when things got really bad, Bobby, as he was in Illinois at the time for a car convention, came and told the nurse he was my uncle and got me out of the hospital whenever I was stable enough to be released. He brought me to my brother's in Missouri where I explained everything to him and Samantha. We parted ways after that, until my ex found out I was in Missouri and tracked me down. I fled to here, Bobby set me up with a place... I got settled in and built my bakery. The rest you already know."

The group is stunned by this information, both at Bobby's intervention and the aloof Isabella Bane having such a violent past.

Dean says with gruff finality after a long while, "Welcome to the family."

The group nods in agreement, Isabella smiling gratefully at them and leans back on Loki, some of the weight of her troubles and worries lifting from her shoulders.

After a too-long moment basking in the sense of family, Dean coughs and says, "No more chick-flick moments, I already feel like I'm should be in a dress with long hair like Sammy's. Let's go watch something violent and drink a ton of beer."

The group laughs and agrees, all moving back into the living room where they watch the Godfather movies. Isabella curls up with Loki and falls asleep during the 3rd one thinking, It's nice to finally be home.

YAY! Another chapter! I'll be in the writing mood all week I promise!

DOn't forget to review and let me know how you think things should go for these two!

Until next time!