Chapter 11
Author's note:
Hey guys, first off thanks for all the kind reviews and second, this is a short chapter with not much in it, but it's a necessary one. Don't worry, though, I've already got the next one written, just waiting for my wonderful beta (Ath3nasGard3n) to give it a thumbs up and I'll post it. ;)
"Now we're just trying to figure out what's going on." Sam finished and hesitantly looked up to read the expression on Amy's face.
He'd been talking for hours, expecting to get interrupted at any moment. She never did. With the exceptions of an occasional yeah, a few uh-uh's and more than a fair share of gasps, the only time Amy had uttered anything had been either to offer him a drink or a snack. Currently, they were working on finishing up a box of Cap'n Crunch. By the time he'd begun revealing the extent of his interactions with Ruby, he'd braced himself and waited for some serious scolding. Amy, however, had remained at a safe distance on her side of the couch, simply watching him in silence.
She sure had changed a lot. The Amy he knew would have bitten his head off for his stupidity. Instead, she was just staring at him, seemingly digesting all the information he'd provided her with.
"Ok..." She started off in a low voice.
She sat up straight from her lounging position and leaned forward to set the cereal box on the coffee table.
"My turn."
Sam frowned. Her turn? He didn't like the sound of that.
"I'm just gonna come out and say it and I really hope you don't get mad but..." She paused.
Amy took a deep breath and all of a sudden she was glaring at him. Sam cautiously slanted back. He'd seen that glower more than a few times, except he'd never actually been on the receiving end of it. That role was usually reserved for his brother, Dean.
"What the hell's wrong with you?!"
Sam jerked a bit at her sudden outburst. Yep, Old Amy was back! But before he could get a word in, she continued:
"Demon blood, really, Sammy? Demon blood?! It's blood! And it's from a demon! How hard can it be to figure out that, maybe, just maybe, that might not be such a smart move?"
"But-"
"What a dumb, stupid, moronic thing to do!"
Ouch! That hurt!
She remained unimpressed by the guilty expression on Sam's face.
"When, in the history of mankind, has anything good come out of blood suckage? When? Never! You know why? Cause it's a dumb thing to do."
She'd said dumb already. No need to rub it in.
"It's bad enough you decided to do the horizontal rumba with this demon..."
Sam winced.
"...but blood sucking? What was going through your brain? Hell, where was your brain?"
"Amy..."
She widened her eyes at his interruption and with a scolding finger warned him:
"Nuh-uh, I'm not done yet."
Of course she wasn't. When Amy went into full ranting mode, there was no stopping her.
"And the whole Angel thing... I swear, you hunters should really start working on your research skills. First, Garrett doesn't know the number of the beast and now you and your brother thought Angels were going to help you stop the Apocalypse. They were gonna try to stop the one event that would eventually lead to Judgment Day? The Day of the Lord? Perfect justice followed by perfect bliss? Really? It's in the Bible! The Bible! Not some obscure parchment in some God forsaken library in the middle of nowhere. It's the freaking Bible! You've got one in every single motel in America. I mean, all you had to do was roll over and look at the book on your bedside table."
That was ironic. The answer to all their doubts about the Angel's involvement in this whole debacle was right there. Every time they checked into a motel room. He'd never thought of that.
"Bet you never thought of that, huh?"
She was doing it again. On occasion, Amy appeared to have an uncanny ability to read minds.
When she was done, a heavy stillness flooded the room.
Sam was hunched over and she felt a twinge of regret for her callous words. But someone had to say it. You couldn't just run your hand through his shaggy hair and say everything was going to be ok. What he'd done had been monumentally stupid and he had to realise that.
After a couple of minutes of silence, though, her resolve crumbled and against her better judgement her hand came to rub the space between his shoulder blades. She felt him relax into her soothing touch.
"I'm sorry..." His apology was barely audible, broody and weighed down by shame.
"Yeah, well... spilled milk... All you can do now is try to fix it." She beamed a soft, half-smile at him when he finally got up the nerve to meet her gaze. "I can't believe I'm saying this but... You should really start listening to your brother more often."
She felt a pang in her chest at the mention of Dean and hastily tried to lighten the mood with a quip:
"By the way, what have you been eating?"
"Huh?" Sam furrowed his brow.
She pointedly ran her hand over his ample back.
"You're huge! You were big before, but now you're just... massive!"
His cheeks flashed red and his eyes dropped to the floor. Amy chuckled at his embarrassment.
"You guys are up, already?"
The two turned to see a sleepy-faced Garrett standing at the entrance to the living room.
Up? What was he-?
Both checked their watches and, sure enough, it was six in the morning. For the first time, the shy strings of light, filtering into the room from the partially opened blinds, dawn on them. The two exchanged a look at the realisation that they had talked the whole night through.
Garrett rubbed his left eye before his hand delved into his dishevelled hair, pushing it away from his face.
"I can't believe we stayed up all night. You must be exhausted." Amy exclaimed noticing the dark bags under Sam's slitted eyes.
"Yeah, I'm kinda beat. But we really should get going. I told Dean I'd be back today."
Another pang in Amy's chest and she promptly ignored it.
"You can't drive all the way back to Nevada. You should get some rest." she suggested eyeing the older hunter.
"I can drive." Garrett piped up and immediately frowned at the twin hesitant looks thrown his way. "What?"
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Standing on her driveway, Sam eyed Garrett's outstretched hand suspiciously.
"I'm not sure about this." Sam repeated for the umpteenth time before reluctantly surrendering the car keys.
"He's gonna kill you if he finds out you let him drive his baby." Amy agreed and for a second Sam pondered driving himself. "Don't even think about it, you're too tired. Just get some rest in the car and you two can switch when you're closer to the roadhouse."
Sam smiled. Despite the limited time they'd actually spent together, Amy really had him pegged, didn't she?
She gave him a smile of her own and, rising on the tip of her toes, locked her hands around his neck, bringing him in for a hug.
"Be safe." She whispered into his shoulder.
"You too." She heard him reply.
When they pulled apart Garrett was expectantly staring at Amy.
"You've got your meds, right? Don't go overboard on the painkillers." She warned him and Sam could have sworn the kid's breath hitched the moment she wrapped her arms around him.
Garrett's lids fluttered closed and his nostrils flared as he inhaled her scent.
The seconds languorously slouched by and, despite the fact that Amy had long loosened her hold on him, Garrett's arms remained firmly folded around her tiny shape.
"Um... Garrett?" She piped up.
"Yeah..." He mumbled; his eyes still shut as he savoured the close contact.
Was he sniffing her? Dean was right…
'Major crush... Awkward...'
Sam clumsily stuffed his hands into his pockets, his gaze ineptly wandering back and forth between a dazed Garrett and a frowning Amy.
The way he was holding onto her, forced her into an uncomfortable position - back and neck arched to meet his height, feet scratching the dusty ground as she struggled to find her footing.
"Maybe... you should..." She croaked out as breathing became an issue.
She flattened her palms against his shoulders, and after a few awkward nudges he seemed to finally break out of his reverie.
His grip slacked and she staggered out of the embrace, hastily puffing her hair as she gulped a couple of extra intakes of air.
"Ok, we're good... See you. Drive safe." She blurted, jittery eyes bouncing from Garrett to Sam and back again.
This was the moment where they were supposed to get in the car and drive away, right? Sam was actually making the effort, taking a tentative step in the direction of the Impala. Garrett, however, wasn't budging.
"Bye..." She tried.
Mercifully, Sam's friendly slap on Garrett's back put an end to the impasse.
"Let's go."
The two shuffled into the car and seconds later the engine revved loudly. From her driveway, Amy followed the Impala until it disappeared over the distant hill.
Sighing, she ambled back into the mansion, locking the door behind her. She didn't bother stifling the yawn, letting her mouth widen for an instant.
Thank God it was Sunday and she wasn't actually on call. She had so much stuff to do if she was going to open up the clinic again. In her head, she planned out her day.
First, get some shut eye, then get up and start working on her resignation letter for the hospital. She also had to make a list of things she needed to buy. Though her basement was still stacked with medical equipments, she'd used up most of her supply stock.
This was going to be a lot of work.
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By the time they got to the roadhouse, the sun had already set. Sam was actually relieved the trip was over. He didn't know how much longer he could dodge Garrett's not so subtle questions about the relationship between him and Amy.
It was clear the boy felt threatened by their proximity and the obvious signs of affection Amy displayed towards Sam.
To the youngest of the Winchesters, this was ridiculous. If he felt threatened now, he wondered how Garrett would react if he ever saw Amy and Dean in a room together. But that scenario would never play out... With Amy safely distanced from the hunting world and Dean intent on keeping it that way, those two would probably never see each other again.
Sam told himself it was for the best, though deep inside, there was a nagging doubt that made him question whether that was really true.
Amy appeared to be dealing quite well with the separation, but Dean...? Sam wasn't so sure about him. There had been a time a couple of months back when he'd been almost convinced that Dean had put the past behind him, still... there were moments, fleeting moments, in which he'd catch a distant, melancholic look on his brother's face, and Sam knew it wasn't over yet.
With this thought plaguing his mind, Sam entered the roadhouse, closely followed by Garrett.
Ellen was on the phone, behind the counter, Dean and Bobby sat at the usual table, in the far left corner of the bar.
"Hey Ellen."
She nodded, focused on her conversation.
"Young lady, you just make sure you stick close to Gunther, you hear?"
He heard Ellen scold over the phone as he walked over to Bobby and Dean.
"Hey." Sam greeted pulling out a chair.
Garrett mimicked him, oblivious to Dean's glare.
"Who's Ellen talking to?" Sam questioned.
"She's giving Jo an earful for joining up with the guys in Sacramento." Bobby explained.
"At least she's gonna be safe. Better than having her work alone." Sam reasoned.
"Who's Jo?" Garrett asked.
"Ellen's daughter." Bobby provided as he stood up. "You boys want a drink?"
"Beer, please." Sam requested.
"Me too." Garrett tried his luck, but Bobby quickly put a damper on his expectations.
"You're getting a soda." He informed and headed for the bar.
"What the hell took you so long?" Those were the first words Dean directed at the newly arrived duo.
Sam sighed. Apparently, Dean was still in grouchy mode. Great!
"We stopped for lunch." Sam informed. "Any news?"
"Nope." Dean popped the 'p' and took a swig of his bottle.
Sam felt a cold tap on his shoulders and turned to accept the beer Bobby handed him. Grumpily, Garrett took his alcohol-free beverage. He couldn't wait to turn 21. Thankfully, it was just a few days away.
"What about me?" Dean grumbled, cocking an eyebrow at Bobby.
"You've already had five beers. I think you're done for the night." The bearded man replied sitting back down.
With an incoherent grunt, Dean pushed himself off his chair and trudged up the staircase.
"What's up with Mr. Sunshine?" Garrett wondered eyeing Dean's retreating form.
"He just get's that way sometimes; probably worried that we still haven't had any progress." Sam speculated.
"Yeah, well he's been like this for two days now." Bobby grouched. "That boy's starting to get on my nerves."
After a couple of minutes, Sam scanned the room. Failing to find the only other female of the group he asked:
"Where's Reggie?"
"Oh, you know her... She just up and disappears from time to time. Last time I saw her was last night." Bobby explained.
"Who's Reggie?"
Garrett frowned when, upon his query, Bobby and Sam's eyes met for an instant.
That was right. He hadn't met Reggie yet. Oh, boy, that would be fun! Reggie would make mincemeat out of the smart mouthed kid.
But alas, it turned out that Sammy's fun would have to wait, because as the days passed by there was no sign of the blonde hunter.
After a week, Sam began to worry.