"More, please" Roxi sang, holding out her hot chocolate for Stella to spray more whipped cream into her mug. She had recounted her and Dean's evening to a captive audience, and in return she got to drink endless amounts of hot chocolate with extra whipped cream. The residual adrenaline from the hunt was keeping her awake and active.
It was almost midnight when Sam, Stella and Cas finished putting the bar back to the way it was. The job was done, which sadly meant that the boys would be back on the road soon.
Stella leaned back and sprayed a mountain of whipped cream on her tongue after filling Roxi's mug. It was something she and her sister had always done when there was whipped cream around, and she had no intention to grow out of it. Even after she closed her mouth there was whipped cream left on her lips.
"Classy." Roxi giggled, taking a slow sip of her hot beverage.
Stella made a face at her little sister, and went to return the whipped cream to the kitchen. Her cheeks were puffed out from her mouth being full.
Castiel, who was leaning on the doorframe, stopped her before she could go into the room, blocking the entrance with his body.
"Stella." He rumbled; the way he said her name sent a shiver down her spine.
She wondered what she could do to make him talk like a thunderstorm all the time.
Stella swallowed the rest of the whipped cream in her mouth and managed to stutter, "Y-yeah, Cas?"
He reached out a tentative thumb to her cheek. "You still have the whipped dessert on your lips."
"Oh, embarrassing." She reached up to wipe it off with the sleeve of her sweater, but he moved his thumb from her cheek to her mouth.
She watched his eyes, how focused he was on her lips. Her stomach flipped.
"Hey, you two." Dean called from the couch.
They turned their heads together; Cas' thumb was still resting on her bottom lip.
Dean cupped his hand around his mouth. "GET A ROOM" He yelled. Roxi laughed from beside him, trying to muffle herself behind her hand.
Stella's face flushed and she rubbed her temples. Cas dropped his hand and squinted at her.
"…A room for what?" He asked sincerely.
Stella smiled and leaned in to whisper, "I'll um…tell you later?" She raised her eyebrows at him.
Cas nodded solemnly.
She smiled and pecked his cheek, and walked into the kitchen to help out Aunt Jayna with whatever she was doing.
Instead, she saw Sam putting mugs on a high shelf. As he reached up to place the clean dishes and cups, the back of his shirt rode up to reveal his lower back dimples. Stella saw Jayna tilt her head to glimpse the peek of skin. She smiled and shook her head. Team Free Will did a number on the three little women. They were all in trouble.
"Doing dishes at this hour?" Stella asked, pulling open the refrigerator to return the whipped cream.
Jayna glanced at the clock. 1:58
The small psychic flipped her hair over her shoulder and said in a voice that floated in the air, "Time is a construction of those willing to measure it. It is only as early or late as you want it to be."
Stella couldn't tell if her aunt was messing with her. Her face looked pensive.
Jayna pursed her lips, holding back a smile. Stella giggled; her aunt was messing with her. She occasionally took advantage of the fact that Stella took things a little too seriously, and would offer a bit of knowledge wrapped in a flighty expression.
Jayna approached her niece, hands outstretched to usher her out of the kitchen and to bed. Even in hunter clothes the psychic still looked like she was sashaying across the room.
She patted Stella on the butt. "You're right dear, we should all head off to bed." She looked back at Sam, who finished emptying the drying rack on the counter. "Sam, that includes you. I know how your sleep schedules are off and you might as well go to bed as there are no immediate threats to disarm."
He scoffed, but followed them out of the room anyway.
In the living room, Stella joined Cas by the bookshelves, where he was reading the bindings of the books on the shelves. Stella nudged his shoulder with her head to let him know they were all retiring to sleep.
Jayna took the mug out of Roxi's only slightly-sleepy hands and placed it on the table, waving her and Dean up the stairs to bed. "I know you want to stay up but you had quite the day, young lady."
Roxi grinned, almost drunk from her drop in adrenaline. "It was unreal. Today was awesome."
Dean helped the new hunter off the couch, and followed her, Stella and Cas up the stairs.
Jayna made sure they were all headed upstairs, before pausing to breathe and say whistfully, "We are such stuff as dreams are made on, and our little life is rounded with a sleep."
Cas nodded from halfway up the stairs and murmured, "The Tempest. Act four, scene one."
"Naturally." Jayna said at the foot of the stairs.
Sam turned after watching his makeshift family trudge up the stairs. "You coming?"
Jayna shook her head slowly. "I have a few things to take care of before bed."
He stopped walking up the stairs and crinkled his forehead at her. "Do you want me to stay with you?"
It sounded more like a request than a question, but Jayna smiled graciously.
"I'll be fine. Get your rest."
Sam nodded blankly. He'd do what she asked and get as much sleep as he could.
^^^…^^^…^^^… ^^^…^^^…^^^… ^^^…^^^…^^^…
Stella was in a field. A vast one. She could almost see the earth curve at the edge of her vision.
She could breathe. She had this deep feeling of clarity and fresh, clean air to match. She inhaled. Wildflowers. She didn't notice them before but there they were: Her bare feet were surrounded by tiny buds of pink and purple and yellow. She picked a green sprig of something and crushed it in her hand. Was it mint?
A breeze moved her white dress. This is heaven, she thought. She felt lighter. She wondered where everyone was. Her family. Roxi, Jayna. Where was Cas?
She inhaled again. They were probably fine.
She heard rustling. Leaves from a tree, maybe?
There are no trees around, she reminded herself.
But there were. She blinked and tall redwoods and oaks had sprung up from the ground, forming a dense forest around her. It felt darker. She tried blinking again to see if her surroundings would change back, but instead the flowers shrank into the ground. With every step, the dirt floor blackened her feet.
A branch snapped behind her.
She spun to see a monster straight out of purgatory. No, I can't be back. But every other instinct assured her that she was.
She patted herself down. She didn't have her gun. The one Dean gave her. She was totally unarmed.
You have a knife. She looked around. Where? The zombie was shambling toward her. Relax, it's just one walker. You have time. Look for your knife.
She found her Swiss Army Knife in a fold of her pristine white dress.
Armed, she walked purposefully toward the walker. She plunged the small blade into its head. It collapsed to the ground.
She heard a familiar sound. Three were behind her. She kicked one over and stabbed the closest one. A second reached forward toward her and she slammed it into the one on the ground.
A bigger group was behind her. She started sweating. Where was her family? Why was she alone? She managed to kill most of them, but she was in a field with nothing but a small knife. No surroundings to use to her advantage. They advanced closer toward her. She heard a scream.
Roxi had a machete, and was cutting down a group of walkers. Stella felt a momentary wave of relief. She tried to run toward her, to fight back to back like they did in purgatory but her legs were moving through molasses. Her sister's hair was knarled and her jeans were torn. Stella looked at her own dress, covered in splatters of dark, rancid blood.
Her sister fell. Stella's scream was trapped in her throat. She couldn't move fast enough. She tried to fight through it. Roxi was sobbing. Stella couldn't get to her in time. She was covered in zombies. Stella had blood all over her arms. Blood was everywhere. Stella gritted her teeth. Wake up. She commanded herself. This is a nightmare. Wake up. Tears rolled down her face. She couldn't escape it. It wasn't a dream. She was back and she couldn't get out. Wake up. Wake up. Wake up.
^^^…^^^…^^^…
"Stella, wake up."
Stella was covered in sweat. Her eyes darted around the room. She was in her room in Jayna's house. She looked down at her white arms, paled from being inside for the winter. She tugged at her clothes, seeing that there was no dress, just her worn Black Keys t-shirt. Her heart throbbed in her temples. She realized she had cried, gingerly touching the few tears that dripped on her cheeks.
She looked up to a pair of bright blue eyes watching her. Cas' brow furrowed, he was stroking back her sweat-matted crop of short red hair.
"You had a nightmare." He stated. He wondered how he could heal her. Instead, he kneeled over her on top of the sheets, worriedly brushing the hair from her face.
"Embarrassing." She mumbled. Stella folded back the sheets haphazardly to sit with her back against the headboard and cradled a pillow in her arms.
"I don't think you should feel embarrassed." Castiel adjusted himself to sit next to her against the headboard. "It is…inherently human to feel fear. Dean also has plenty of nightmares as well. You can tell me about it, if you feel so inclined."
Stella noted that he looked funny without his trench coat and suit. He was wearing a pair of her college sweatpants and a shocking yellow tee that said "I Heart Tuna" on the front (courtesy of a Philadelphia thrift store). She was slightly surprised that they fit him, but her clothes were always too big for her. She liked to be cozy. Stella snuggled into the pillow she was holding, pulling her legs up to her chest.
"It was one I have a lot. Reoccurring."
She paused to look over the angel sitting beside her. He was completely concentrated on her.
"I was in purgatory again, fighting…monsters. And Roxi showed up, and right when I thought we would work together and pull through, she…" Tears prickled at the corners of her eyes, and she blinked them back. "Cas, I couldn't save her in time."
Castiel wrapped his arms around the curled up girl. She leaned into him. He smelled like honey. She silently prayed her hair still smelled like her coconut shampoo instead of sweat. He kissed the top of her head.
"Your sister is very fortunate to have someone so concerned about her."
Stella nuzzled her face into his chest, "Thanks."
"I've told you before. You girls are very skilled hunters-in-training. I doubt there are too many things you couldn't handle if you tried."
Stella rolled her eyes, "You sound like an inspirational cat poster."
Cas chuckled. Stella felt his diaphragm move with his laughter, and smiled. She figured he didn't get the joke, but her inflection was enough to hint at it.
"Besides, if you ever were trapped in purgatory again, you have a team of people that would immediately come to your aid."
Stella nodded into him. "I know, you're right."
Cas paused, and said gruffly, "Was I reassuring enough? I don't often console small tearful women."
Stella crinkled her nose at him and beamed at him. "You're perfect, Cas."
He gave her a small smile and tucked a loose lock of hair behind her ear.
Her heart skipped a beat, but she pushed herself off the bed, instead of acting on whatever she was thinking about doing.
Castiel watched her, looking dejected.
She cleared her throat, and offered, "I'll be right back, I'm gonna get a glass of water from the kitchen."
"I'll just…wait here then."
Stella grinned and turned on her heel out her bedroom door.
^^^…^^^…^^^…
Eyes still sleepy, Stella padded into the kitchen, her bare feet chilled by the transition from the hardwood of the living room to cold tile.
She stopped when she reached the doorway, and saw her aunt standing at her island surrounded by a curious collection of rocks and candles placed on top of little salt pyramids.
Jayna smiled at her niece. "It's just a protection spell. Don't worry, I know what I'm doing."
Stella put her hands up false-defensively, "I didn't say anything."
Her aunt bounced her head back and forth, with an expression that said, Of course you didn't but I knew what you were thinking.
Stella shrugged and pulled a glass out of a cabinet.
Jayna looked at her like she was just seeing her. "Stella. Did you have another nightmare?"
"Yeah, but I'm fine. Just getting some water and then I'll go back to bed."
Aunt Jayna narrowed her eyes at the small girl and pursed her lips. She went back to tidying up her protection spell, carefully placing each stone in a small jar with salt.
"Cas help?" She said loftily, like it wasn't a big deal.
"Yep." Stella poured her glass and sat herself at the counter of the island. "What's that stuff?"
"Black tourmaline, emerald, peridot, bloodstone." Jayna stationed a jar under a loose floorboard in the corner of the kitchen and whispered something inaudible as she closed it. "One of each of these jars is to be placed in every corner of the house."
"You stayed up until 5AM for a bunch of jars?" Stella took a sip of her water. Psychics…
"The Hindi believe that times just before daybreak are the most auspicious, or lucky. It brings good fortune, and a little extra juice for a protection spell." Jayna held up a jar with an almost glowing green emerald in it. "We could all use a bit of luck."
Jayna started out of the kitchen with three of the jars, only to be stopped by another small girl, who got a peck on the cheek.
"Rox?" Stella set down her glass on the dark marble countertop.
Roxi yawned in response. She took a seat beside her sister and rested her head on her shoulder. Stella gently patted her back.
Jayna returned empty handed, clearly finished with her ritual. She blew out the thick white candles that were lit and returned them and the salt to her pantry.
The mystic fixed her deep brown eyes on her niece's sleepy ones. "Did we wake you, Roxi dear?"
"I heard people talking and I wanted to join." Roxi's head slipped off of Stella's shoulder and bobbed back up.
"Mmmhmm." A laugh bubbled out of Jayna. "You thought it was Dean."
Roxi smiled without opening her eyes. "No…"
"Oh my god." Stella gestured out the wide kitchen windows. Dawn was breaking. Streaks white and pink light was peeking over the trees in Jayna's backyard.
Jayna sighed. "I could hurry the two of you up to bed for the second time, or we could watch the sun rise."
Roxi's eyes fluttered open. "That sounds cool. Lets do it." She looked at her sister for her response.
"Well I'm not going back to sleep. I have to run upstairs to tell Cas, but I'll grab a few blankets while I'm up there so we could sit outside." Stella hopped down from her bar stool and pointed at Jayna's state-of-the-art coffee maker. "If we're doing that I want a cup of coffee."
"I'll take care of that." Jayna resolved. Soon the smells of Columbian beans filled the house.
They sat under Jayna's thick blankets with their steaming mugs, still too hot to drink but warm enough to hold. Their chairs on the porch were pulled next to each other, as if they intended to share their blankets and body heat, and it was transparent why Jayna had worked so hard on a protection spell for their house. Moments like these needed to be protected at all costs.
Silently, the three women watched as the sun slowly showed its colors, beginning a new day.
