May 13th, 2006
Godfrey's House
Worcester, Massachusetts
Charlie and Courtney Warren
"When was the last time you ate?"
Charlie looked up from her microscope to find her sister standing in the doorway, a tray of food clutched in her hands. She pursed her lips at that, a little amused that her sister was still trying to feed her. "This morning," she answered.
Courtney raised a suspicious eyebrow. "What did you eat?"
She hesitated. "Toast."
"Toast?"
"Toast."
Courtney let out a sigh and stepped into the room, maneuvering around the work tables till she reached the one Charlie was at. "Toast isn't a meal, Charlie," she chastised, shoving a pile of books aside to set the tray down. "It's a side."
Charlie rolled her eyes. "You should be glad that I ate at all," she muttered.
"Yeah, I guess," she agreed with a sigh. "Well, I made you a sandwich so you're going to eat it," she told her.
"Thanks, sis," she said, looking back into the microscope. "I'll eat it later."
Courtney let out a scoff. "I haven't fallen for that in years," she stated, reaching over to pull a stool over. "I'm going to stay here till you eat it all."
Charlie let out a sigh and turned her attention to her sister. "If you're going to stay I'm going to talk at you," she warned. "You up for that?"
"When am I not?" she asked, snatching the apple off the tray and taking a bite. "How's it going? You getting close?"
Her sister shrugged. "I don't know if I'm close but I'm further than I was before," she answered, slumping back once again to rub a hand across her eyes. "I've figured out that it's a neurological stimuli that triggers the DNA change. So I have to figure out a work around for that which I have no idea how to do," she said, picking the sandwich up off the plate. "I hate science," she grumbled before taking a large bite.
"What about an electrical stimuli?" Courtney suggested. "Like a jump start?"
Charlie chewed thoughtfully for a moment. "I suppose I could run an electrical current through the skin to stimulate it," she mused. "It's gotta be the same percentage that the body gives off but….." she trailed off.
Courtney smirked at that, a little proud that she had thought of it. "So I was thinking that….." she trailed off as she looked her sister over, her brow furrowing as she noticed how baggy Charlie's shirt was. "Is that….is that Dad's shirt?" she asked, knowing that she had seen it somewhere before.
Charlie glanced down at the army green button up shirt she was wearing and cleared her throat. "No. No, it's not Dad's," she asked, turning away from her sister to mess with the slides.
Courtney struggled to place the shirt for a moment longer before letting out a gasp. "That's Dean's shirt!" she exclaimed, pointing to it. "Why do you have Dean's shirt?!"
Charlie shifted uncomfortably on her stool. "I accidently grabbed it when I packed," she explained. "His shit was all over the bathroom, it's a miracle I didn't grab more."
An elated smile was now spread across the younger girl's face. "Okay, but why are you wearing it?" she pressed.
Charlie opted to take a bite of her sandwich as answer, purposely looking anywhere but at Courtney.
"Oh my God," she said with a giddy laugh.
"Shut up, Courtney," Charlie warned.
"You like him~" she sing songed. "You want to kiss him~"
Charlie let a laugh. "Been there, done that," she snarked before she could catch herself.
Courtney let out another gasp. "What? When did that happen?" she demanded, reaching out to smack her sister's shoulder. "Give me details! Who kissed who first and where? Why?"
Charlie let out a frustrated sigh. "Courtney-"
"I'm not going to leave you alone till you tell me what happened."
Charlie resisted the urge to push Courtney off the stool and pulled in a deep breath. "It was in Burkittsville," she answered. "Before they took us to the orchard they kept us in a cellar and….." she trailed off, shaking her head.
"And….?"
"And I kissed him," Charlie continued. "I kissed him and used some stupid line."
"What line?"
"'I wasn't going to die without doing that at least once'," she quoted.
Courtney chortled. "Oh, that is bad."
"Yeah, okay but he used it when we were at Roy's," she defended, finally looking to her sister.
"He kissed you at Roy's?" Courtney asked, her eyebrows shooting up.
Charlie nodded. "When we first got there and he told you and Sam to save us seats. He kissed me and said 'I wasn't going to die without doing that at least once'."
Courtney sucked her lips in as she looked to her sister with excitement.
Charlie glared at her. "I told you what happened. Drop it," she said, pointing a finger at her before taking a bite. "I'm eating your sandwich, I told you what happened, what more do you want from me?" she asked around her mouthful of food.
Courtney all but vibrated in her chair as she watched her sister. She considered pressing Charlie for more details but she knew that it wouldn't end well for either of them if she did. "Okay, okay, I'll stop," she allowed. "But, uh, it's awesome. That you guys did that."
"Shut the fuck up, Courtney."
Godfrey's House
Worcester, Massachusetts
Courtney Warren and Godfrey
Summertime, and the livin' is easy
Fish are jumpin' and the cotton is high
Oh, your daddy's rich and you ma is good-lookin'
So hush little baby, don't you cry
Courtney sang along to the record player as she moved about the kitchen, her hair now tied up in a high bun. It had been awhile since she had made her grandmother's spaghetti sauce and much to her annoyance it took her longer to remember all the ingredients than she would have liked. Thankfully making the pasta had gone far more smoothly.
One of these mornings you're gonna rise up singing
And you'll spread your wings and you'll take to the sky
But 'til that morning, there ain't nothin' can harm you
With Daddy and Mammy standin' by
Stirring the pan filled with simmering red sauce she swayed back and forth. Tapping the spoon clean she put it back in the cradle and checked on the pot of water, throwing another pinch of salt into it when she found that it wasn't boiling.
Summertime, and the livin' is easy
Fish are jumpin' and the cotton is high
Oh, your daddy's rich and you ma is good-lookin'
So hush little baby, don't you cry
Turning away from the stove she all but skipped over to the racks of drying pasta. She looked the rows over before pinching one of them to check the firmness.
One of these mornings you're gonna rise up singing
And you'll spread your wings and you'll take to the sky
But 'til that morning, there ain't nothin' can harm you
With Daddy and Mammy standin' by
"Yer mother loved tha' song."
She resisted the urge to jump and simply turned to looked to the man standing in the doorway. "It's not nice to sneak up on people, Godfrey."
The Scotsman smiled at that. "I wasn't sneakin', darlin'," he denied. "You were jus' too skippy to notice me."
She raised an eyebrow at that. "Skippy? I'm pretty sure that's not a word."
"'s a word," he said, sauntering into the kitchen. "Is tha' yer mothers spaghetti sauce?" he questioned, pointing to the pan as he walked over. He leaned over the stove and pulled in a deep breath, a hum of appreciation leaving him. "It smells wonderful, darlin'," he praised.
She couldn't help but smile at that. "Why thank you. I've been slaving over a hot stove all day," she said, putting on a flippant tone.
He chuckled and turned back to her. "How are you, my darlin'?" he asked. "We haven' rally had much time to converse."
"Is that your subtle way of telling me that there's something we need to talk about?" she questioned with an arched eyebrow.
He tilted his head to the side. "Possibly. I guess I have more of a question than a direct topic," he allowed.
She leaned back against the counter and folded her arms. "Shoot."
He mimicked her stance. "These Winchester boys, are they…." he trailed off. "What are they-are they like-"
"Are they like John?" she cut in.
Godfrey grimaced. "Yes?"
"Do you really think that if they were anything like John Charlie would be so infatuated?" she demanded, giving him a pointed look.
Surprise swept across his face. "Infatuated? Charlie? No!"
Courtney nodded. "Oh yeah. With Dean," she gossiped. "Apparently they've kissed a couple of times."
"Really? Why didn' she say anythin'?"
She scoffed. "It's Charlie. Did you really expect her to gush about it? She is wearing one of his shirts though."
Godfrey shook his head as he wrapped his mind around that. "I never would have expected that in a million years," he mused, a small laugh leaving him. "Wha' abou' you? And the other boy?"
Courtney smiled at the thought of the tallest Winchester. "Sam. He's, uh, he's surprisingly easy to get along with," she explained. "And before you ask, no, there isn't anything going on between us."
He nodded in understanding. "Right, right, because of his girlfriend."
She had almost forgotten that she had told him about that. "Yeah, his girlfriend," she agreed. "He's handling it surprisingly well-well, as far as I can tell, but he is a Winchester so you never really know with them," she mused, biting her lip as she thought. "Though I feel like he's a lot more evolved than Dean and John. At least he talks about things."
Godfrey giggled at that. "Well, next time you see them invite them around," he told her. "I'd love to meet them."
"You?" she asked with a scoff. "You want people to come here?"
"Ooooh! Am I Miss. Havisham now?" he asked, shifting into a feminine stance and pressing the back of his hand to his forehead. "Don' I look so beautiful in my weddin' dress and my lovely shoe?" he asked, sticking a leg out to wiggle his foot about. "I wan' you to invite those boys here so I can teach you how to break their hearts!"
"Remind me, Godfrey, how long were you in the theatre?"
He glanced over at her out of the corner of his eye. "Three days," he answered.
She let out a snort of laughter. "It shows," she told him.
"Everybody's a critic," he dismissed, dropping his stance. "Will you invite them of not?"
"I'll mention it next time we see them," she placated him. "Now, would you do the favor of getting Charlie? Dinners almost ready and I want her to eat."
"Of course, darlin'," he said, pushing off the counter. "Where is she?"
"Where do you think?"
"Right."
Godfrey's House
Worcester, Massachusetts
Charlie Warren
After their family style dinner Charlie found herself in the library. She was seated in her favorite armchair with medical books surrounding her, the one in her hand labeled 'On the Electrodynamics of Moving Bodies'. She was half way through the book and still not sure how she was going to apply it to the Shapeshifter skin issue.
"That doesn't make any fucking sense," she muttered, squinting at the page. "What the hell is that supposed to mean?"
Her confusion was interrupted by the ring of her phone, her hand reaching out blindly to grab the offending object off the side table.
"Charlie Warren," she answered absently.
"I need some advice."
She looked up from her book at that, a smile stretching across her face at the sound of Dean's voice. "A Winchester is willingly asking for help?" she teased. "Hell must be having a snow day."
Dean let out a frustrated sigh. "Yeah, this was a bad idea. Sorry I bothered you."
"No! No, Dean, I'm sorry. I'm sorry. What is it?" she asked, shifting in the chair to sit up a little straighter.
He was quiet for a moment. "Have you ever told anyone the secret?"
"You're going to have to be a little more specific," she told him.
"You know. The secret," he said. "The one about what we do. About monsters and hunting."
"Oooh, that secret," she mused, slumping back into the chair and looking to the fire. "Yeah, I mean, sometimes there are hunts that you have to-"
"No. Not for a hunt," he interrupted, sounding annoyed. "Have you ever told the secret to someone….not involved in a hunt but with you?"
"Involved as in romantically?" she questioned.
"Yes."
"Oh," she said, a little surprised at that. Dean didn't really strike her as a 'romantically involved' kind of guy. "Uh, no, outside of a hunt I've never had to tell anyone, at least, anyone who didn't already know," she told him. "Have you….told anyone?"
"Cassie," he all but sighed out. "We, uh, we dated a few years ago and….." he trailed off in hesitation.
"And you told her," she finished.
"Yeah."
"I'm guessing she didn't take it well?"
He barked out a laugh. "She broke up with me."
Charlie grimaced at the angst in his voice. "I'm sorry."
"Yeah, me too."
Charlie would be lying if she said she wasn't awkward. "So, uh," she started, clearing her throat, "since you're talking about her, did something happen?"
He let out another sigh. "She called me yesterday," he explained. "Her dad was killed and it, uh, it freaked her out enough that she called me. She wouldn't have called me if something wasn't wrong," he said more to himself than to her.
A small smile twitched at her lips at his concern. "That's terrible about her dad. Is something wrong?"
"Oh, yeah. It's, uh, something unnatural," he answered before clearing his throat. "But that isn't what I need advice on."
"You want advice on how to handle being around her again, right?"
"How did you-"
"There's only one reason why you would tell her the secret, Dean," she interrupted. "You loved her."
Dean chose not to answer.
"She broke your heart, honeybuns, there's no denying that," she stated, putting as much softness into her voice as she dared.
"I'm over it," he grunted out.
"Are you? I don't think you'd be calling me for advice if you were," she challenged.
He went quiet again.
"I can't help you if you don't talk to me," Charlie reminded him, starting to get a little pissed off. After all the things they had been through in the past months she thought that they had moved passed him holding things back from her.
"I've-" he cut off when his voice cracked. "I've never talked about this with…with anyone," he admitted. "I didn't even tell my dad about her."
That didn't really surprise her. Dean had a history with being silent about traumatic events. "Well, you can talk about it with me. You know you can."
He pulled in a deep breath and let it out slowly. "I thought…I thought she would understand," he said, his voice going a little softer. "She was always bugging me about what my dad and I did, and some of the things we talked about I thought she would understand."
"You trusted her."
"I trusted her a lot more than I should have," he agreed.
"Don't say that," she chastised. "You should never regret opening yourself up to someone you love."
"What about when that someone betrays you?"
"Is that what you see it as?" she questioned, not really surprised.
"I don't see it as anything, Charlie, that's what it is," he argued.
Charlie let out a sigh. "Then, I guess the only thing left to do is take revenge."
"What the hell are you talking about?" he demanded.
"Well, when someone betrays you revenge is usually what comes next. She broke your heart, Dean, she betrayed your trust. Don't you want revenge for that?" she asked, throwing some conviction into her tone.
Dean was quiet for a moment. "Why do I feel like this is a trap?" he questioned, the suspicion clear in his voice.
Charlie smiled at that, relieved that he knew her well enough to pick up on that. "Because it is," she answered. "You obviously don't have any ill intentions towards her. Just hurt feelings."
"What the hell does that mean?"
"It means talk to her," she told him, slipping her bookmark into the book and setting it onto the side table. "You're angry and hurt and that's not going away till you resolve things with her."
He let out a long sigh. "I don't know if I can do that."
"You can hunt ghosts, poltergeists, and all the other monsters but you can't have a conversation with a woman?" she asked, teasing in her voice. "I find that hard to believe, honeybuns."
"Where would I even start?"
"'Hi, Cassie' sounds good," she suggested. "She's probably expecting this conversation so it won't come as a surprise to her. It might not be the most pleasant conversation you've ever had but it'll resolve things."
"I never thought I would see her again," he stated absently. "I really didn't."
A strange pang shot thought Charlie at that, her bottom lip catching between her teeth. "Do you….still love her?"
Dean let out a weak laugh. "Sweetheart, I haven't loved her since she told me it was over."
A part of her didn't believe him. "This probably won't mean anything but I hope it goes okay."
"Why wouldn't it mean anything?"
Charlie shrugged despite him being unable to see it. "I don't know. Sorry. It's been a long day," she dismissed with a roll of her eyes.
"You okay? Did Godfrey get your Shapeshifter skin?" he asked, a more chipper tone to his voice.
She hummed at that. "Yeah, I'm okay," she assured her. "Godfrey found me a rather disturbing amount of skin to work with so I've been busy."
"Have you made any progress? You said you couldn't get the skin to replicate the DNA?" he asked with uncertainty.
"Yeah," she answered with a chuckle. "I still haven't quite figured it out but Courtney suggested using an electrical charge, so I'm looking into the body's natural electrical impulses."
"The nervous system?"
"I was trying to sound smart but you ruined it," she told him.
He actually laughed at that. "Sorry 'bout that. If it's any consolation you always sound smart."
"Now you're making me sound like a nerd."
"I ain't making you anything, sweetheart, you are a nerd," he stated good-naturedly. "It's actually pretty awesome."
Charlie smiled at that. "Thanks. My genius is rarely praised."
"Alright, rein it in," he chuckled. "You're not that smart."
She scoffed. "Screw you, I'm a fucking genius and you know it."
"Yeah, yeah, whatever you say, sweetheart," he said dismissively. "Listen, I'm, uh, I'm gonna take your advice and talk to her."
"That's good," she said, albeit a little disappointed that their conversation was going to end. "Let me know how it goes, okay?"
"Sure," he agreed. "I'll talk to you later."
"TTFN."
"What?"
"Ta-ta for now?" she explained. "Tiger? From Winnie the Pooh?"
He let out a snort of laughter. "God, you're so weird," he muttered. "Goodbye, sweetheart."
"Bye, honeybuns," she said before the line went dead.
FILLER~!
Hope y'all like it. Leave me some reviews with domestic things you would like to see the girls doing in the future! Or anything else you would like to see!
Reviews=Love
~Alya Kihaku