"Bobby," Ellen went back to cleaning her glass out of habit. "You know this kid?"
Aleanah's arms were wrapped around his torso, her cheek pressed against his stomach. Bobby shrugged an answer, scooping the unknown child in her arms. "Beats me. Watcha name kid? How'd ya get here, and how you know me?"
"Aleanah," she smiled, staring at Bobby's scruff in fascination. "Castiel flew me to heaven to keep me safe. And I know you from the dreams. You come and visit me, remember?"
"Ain't got a clue what you're talking about kid," Bobby set her down on the bar.
The girl's face shunk. She had been hit hard a few times in her small life, but this was one of the most devastating things, it ties neck and neck with the Softy Incident that almost happened, Sam was thinking about throwing it out. The kid had to hide the thing, she hoped now Dean would at least keep it safe for her. This was hard, since it was the nightmares when he came. They fought alongside each other, fighting the evil things. She couldn't do it when Bobby wasn't there.
"Cas brought her here, she's got Grace inside her. Said she'd been with the boys." Ellen set a glass down. "It'd be better taken with a drink," she winked.
"Can't argue with that," Bobby gruffly answered, taking a seat closest to the kid, who was pouting on the bar, nibbling on cookies and fighting tears.
"Are you sure you don't remember," the kid asked again, a little tremble in her bottom lip. "Remember when you came inside my head and killed the bad things! Even before my mommy was-" She hastily grabbed the glass of milk and took large gulps. Nothing, nothing ever, would make her say those words allowed. She won't even think them.
Ellen gave Bobby a look. His eyebrows fused together as he scratched his scruffy beard in thought. "Can't say I do, sorry."
"I am so confused!" Aleanah shouted, hopping off the bar and landing with a loud thud. "I don't understand anything!"
"That makes all of us," Ellen said, wide eyed looking at the girl with a frown on her face.
Tears were hot and heavy in her eyes. "No! I mean I don't get it! Nothing. None of this."
"Hey, we don't need tears," Ellen stated sternly, walking over the other side towards her. Jo watched from across the room. Ash poked his head out from his door to see what all the shouting was about.
Aleanah stomped, frustration from being confused turning into anger. Small humans can't handle all those emotions at once, so she dealt with it the way children always do, by crying. Tears streaked her face. "I'm tired of crying all the time!" She sobbed, stomping up the steps, out of reach. "I cry so much. My-my-my mommy used to say," a sniffle interrupted her, "she used to say if you cry a bunch you'll dry out, and-and she used to say that you should only cry when you hurt. Well I huuurt bad. I always hurt!"
Ellen held out a palm as for surrender. "Kid it's okay to let it out, you need to let it out. But when it's all said and done," Ellen shook her head, "no more."
"I wish I could stop crying! I don't understand...I can't…" her wet face frowned in thought, "comprehend. I can't comprehend what's happening to me."
"Uh guys, take a load of this," Ash muttered. Ellen turned away from the child, looking at Ash with a frown tugging on her face. Ash stared blankly out the window. It was dark, water droplets trickled down the glass and clouded the window with fog. It never rains in Heaven. Its never sunny, never windy, never cold, never hot, but here it was...raining.
"Is that rain," Jo looked at the ceiling, hearing the patter of the harsh drops on the roof. "I can't believe this," she threw down her towel on a table and ran to the doors.
Bobby hopped off his stool, frowning at the little girl. "What did you say she had in her?"
Aleanah payed no attention to the adults, wondering out of Ellen's view towards the sound of rain. She continued to sniffle and hiccup with tears slowly coming down her cheeks. Aleanah rubbed her tears away with the back of her wrist. Rain. She loved rain. Her mommy used to say that rain made her more happy than sunshine did. And no coat! Aleanah childishly thought, running towards the door. She forced the doors open, hearing the panicked shouts from Ellen and Bobby.
A wet, white flash engulfed the child like a giant hand. Realizing she closed her eyes only when she forced her eyelids open. Aleanah stood in the dark, rain pouring. Goosebumps crawled along her arms. Swiftly, she turned, only to see an empty space. Her throat burned and she thought she needed to cry again. Let it all out, then be done.
The only things Aleanah could make out of her surroundings was grass and trees. Large trees that took most of the sky with their leaves. The green leaves rustled relentlessly. There was no moon to give her light, no stars either, not even a sky. Just rain, dark, grass, and leaves. Aleanah was alone...all alone.
Alone and terrified until something, rather, someone, grabbed her arm and commanded her to run.
The child's legs throbbed. Every ounce of energy telling her to stop running while every stubborn bone arguing against it. She didn't even know where she was running, or whom she was running with. The only thing she could clearly see was the long blonde curls spiraling as her companion ran in front of her.
The poor kid didn't even see that rock sticking from the grass. Her foot connected with it and down she went, face planted into the grass. When she fell, it was as if she were falling a great distance, like falling from the top of the stairs. It took a good deal of time before her chin hit the ground, causing her teeth to bite down on her tongue and the taste of iron to fill her mouth. The air was forced from her chest in that painful moment.
The same hand that was curled around her arm and commanding her to run, plucked her from the ground. And then there was light, Aleanah thought, because the rain and darkness had cleared and two, round blue eyes stare questioningly back at her.
"Are you okay?" The young woman asked, softly touching Aleanah's cheek with her warm, open palm. Aleanah didn't even cry from the pain she felt on her tongue, knees, and chin, merely staring at those blue eyes. "I'm Jess, by the way. And I know who you are," the nice, pretty woman grinned, her pink lips curling over her white teeth. Her blonde hair fell like a blanket around her shoulders.
"You do," Aleanah hiccuped, trying so hard to keep tears back.
Jess nodded, a smile still on her face. With the hand that was on her cheek she brushed Aleanah's short hair behind her ear. "Aleanah Day. You're going to save us."
"I am," the little girl asked in a childish amazement. Jess nodded again. "But why? How? I'm still bossed around and I still have to wear a coat when it rains and I carry a stuffed bear around and I cry a lot and I'm only four feet tall." She babbled, a frown weighing on her small face. She looked sharply at the woman called Jess. "Why are we running?"
"We need to see Mary, you know Mary."
"I do?"
Jess stood up and grabbed her small hand. "You will remember when you see her. First though, we have to find Mary."
****SPN****
"Goddamit! Goddamnit! Sonofabitch. Sam," Dean huffed and held on to his knees. "Sam I am going to kill him. And I mean kill him. Skin that sonofabitch-I mean what the hell?-skin him until there's nothin' left of his freaking vessel. Ohh. Sam." On the roof, Dean yelled, screamed, kicked, and cursed. Sam stared at the sky blankly like Castiel would start flying towards them. It's a plane. It's a bird. It's their freaking kidnapper angel "friend" from heaven who kidnapped their kid and said it's, "complicated."
"Dean stop before you blow a gasket," Sam muttered, continuing to stare blankly at the sky
"You-oooh, no. Nope. Not going to. Not gonna do it. I'm gonna summon him Sam. Sam! Am I boring you Sam?"
If you were a third person, you'd swear Sam and Dean were a couple and Dean is the controlling, nagging wife in this relationship. Sam merely rolled his eyes, refusing to take part in his anger tantrum.
"I'm gonna do it. Sam get me my summoning stuff from my trunk. I'm going to do it right here, right now. On the roof. Roof style."
"Dean," Sam sighed, "we don't have any summoning stuff. Nothing that will summon Cas, we'd have to get some." He turned and faced his brother, who was still glowing with rage. "Right now, best bet we should leave. The cops will be here any minute."
Dean a long, heavy, and loud sighed, stomping towards the latter. Sam looked at the clouds again, thick and heavy with future ran. It had been sunny not a few minutes ago and now it looked like a ninety percent chance of rain.
****SPN****
"It's not like we gave him permission to just...take off!"
"No," Sam sighed, opening the newspaper in the passenger side of the Impala.
"Do we look like the kinda people you could just take kids from? Do I look like someone who'd allow that. I'm gonna kill 'em Sam. Going. To. Kill. Him. I'm gonna kill him so bad, he's gonna wish he wasn't dead!"
Sam looked confusingly up at his brother, who's knuckles were turning white with gripping the wheel. "What?"
"I don't know. Shut up."
Sam looked at the sky again, rain drops plopping down on the windshield. He frowned. "Does that seem weird to you," he gestured towards the rain.
Dean waved one of his hands. "Is it supposed to? It's rain. Big deal. You know, it doesn't seem like you care that much about the oompa loompa being taken."
"What? Of course I do! I am just trying to focus my anger on something productive. Look at the rain. It was sunny earlier."
"Not the first time the weather mans been wrong Sammy," Dean grunted.
"That's not what I mean," Sam grumbled. "It just feels...like something else that's all."
"Okay Ororo Munroe," Dean shook his head with an eye roll, looking in the rear view mirror again at the empty backseat, her stuffed bear sideways on the bundle of blankets. He sighed softly, then turned his attention back to the road, gripping the wheel tighter.