Three days had passed. Dean still hadn't moved from his bed, hidden away in the small hotel room. Jason had been working busily, applying salves to Dean's black bruises. Halfway through the second day they had disappeared completely. That night, microscopic nanites had finished realigning his ribs and sealing them in place. Looking at him, sleeping deceptively peacefully in bed, one would never think he had been through hell and back.
There was no outward evidence of those injuries, but Sam would never get the images from his mind.
Jason didn't like leaving the room if he didn't need to. He didn't like the idea of leaving his patient alone, and after almost losing his bondmate, he didn't want him out of his sight, either. He tended to stay in the room, only leaving to collect food or old appliances, which Takota would pull apart for some project he was working on. He'd been angsty the first day, but after his arm had been healed by those strange salves he'd gotten straight to work. It kept him occupied so he wouldn't worry so much about Dean. Both he and Jason refused to tell Sam what the project was. A surprise, they said.
Sam wished he could utilize his time like them so he'd stop fretting. He tried talking to the shifters as they went about their work, Takota tinkering and Jason on the laptop, studying about the world. The two were happy to talk, explaining a lot about their world to keep him distracted. But they both saw how his focus would always wander back to the bed.
'When is he going to wake up?' Sam had asked at one point. Jason shrugged as he continued his reading, which annoyed Sam. Takota then began to explain how resurrection worked with shifters. It was an instant process, due to the compatibility and usual need for haste. But humans, being so different, were much harder to predict. Sometimes they woke up hours later, sometimes days later. There was nothing they could do but wait for Dean to recover in his own time.
Sam didn't return to his nightstand, instead spending much of his time curled on the pillow beside Dean's still form. He needed to be close to his brother, to reassure himself that he was still there. The shifters let him be, quietly going about their work. They often worked together on their project, which Sam had stopped questioning about. They never gave him a proper answer, anyway.
Jason was out now, and Takota had gone with him. They had said they were going to collect some dinner. Sam had decided to stay in to keep an eye on his brother. He curled in the nook at his neck, trying to stay close. It kept him hidden from any maids that might have ignored the "keep out" sign on the door. It also gave him extra reassurance, feeling the gentle breeze that came from lungs bigger than he was. In that safe spot, he found himself nodding off. As long as he could hear it, he knew that his brother was safe, and he could relax.
He was so relaxed, in fact, that he didn't notice the subtle twitches from his makeshift fort.
Dean groaned quietly, slowly regaining his senses. It was dark, and everything smelt off. It wasn't that it was bad – in fact the smells were the leftover scents from lunch – but that everything was intensified. Familiar smells were now warped with a heightened sense of clarity. Was this heaven? Was he dead?
No. He was in a bed. In a familiar area, but like the smells, everything was distorted and strange. He gulped, feeling a small lump against his neck. His mind in a bit of a fog, he plucked the thing off and brought it to his eyes. The sharp sound of alarm made him jump, and he dropped the blurry thing onto his face. He tried to sit up, but a sharp pain stabbed at his temples, keeping him down. The little form moved, propping up against his nose. He blinked up at it, the form slowly focusing. A mop of brown hair, darn familiar hazel eyes...
'S-sammy?' He asked blearily, not even recognizing his own voice.
Sam stared down at his brothers eye, too close to see the other on the other side of the nose. The fright he'd felt from being plucked up and dropped was instantly forgotten.
'Dean! Your awake!' He said, smiling brightly.
Dean winced at his voice, sluggishly moving to sit up. He tried to cup Sam in his hand, but misjudged the distance. Sam tumbled gently down his chest, landing safely in the covers of the blanket. Dean groaned, his head pounding painfully. Or was it? He couldn't even tell. It hurt to think.
'Dean!' Sam yelled, trying to move on the unstable cloth. Dean blinked, confused for a moment before placing his hand beside the struggling hunter. Sam quickly climbed into the shaking hand, happy to be out of the blanket.
'Wha' happened to me?' Dean asked, keeping his hand against the mattress. Sam's usually unnoticeable weight seemed huge for a minute, and he wasn't sure if he could hold him up. At the very least, he knew he wouldn't be able to keep it steady, so he left it where it rested.
'You...' Sam hesitated, biting his lip, 'You got hurt. Jason helped you.'
'I... I remember a knife... and...' Dean couldn't focus with all the strange colors that swirled around him. The hotel room blurred together, colors swirling around like a Van Gogh painting. It was distracting, and he could smell something.
'Dean? Dean! Are you okay?' Sam asked, hands on his brothers thumb. He was trembling. What was wrong with his brother? Oh god, where was Jason when he needed him?
There was a quick knock on the door. The brothers froze for a moment, before the door handle began to turn. Dean blindly reached behind him, searching for a pistol that wasn't under the pillow. Sam pulled some fingers over himself, trying to hide himself from the intruder.
The door swung open and in strolled Jason, carrying three boxes of pizza and a bunch of bags of mystery food, a second bag of drink in the other hand. He paused when he saw the brothers staring at him. He grinned.
'Well, good evening, sleeping beauty!' He declared jollily, quickly dumping the stack on the table as the door swung shut behind him.
'Jason! Something's wrong with Dean!' Sam yelled, voice higher than usual due to his fright. Dean only just got better. He couldn't get sick or something now.
'Oh, don't worry 'bout it. He was dead for a while, so his body is trying to get used to having working senses again,' Jason dismissed casually, shrugging apologetically, 'Its an unfortunate side effect of resurrecting a human. But it'll go away after a little while.'
Jason paused, looking down at his chest pocket. He quickly slipped his hand inside, bringing out a disheveled Takota.
'You were right,' Jason said with a quiet snicker at his mates expense, 'He woke up.'
'Wait. You knew he was going to wake up?' Sam asked, sounding exasperated, 'And you left?'
'It was only a guess, Sam.' Jason said.
'And in my defense, I thought we still had another ten, twenty minutes before he began to wake up.' Takota defended, looking a little disappointed that his calculations were off.
'Is...' Dean groaned as another wave of... something, hit him and made the world swirl, 'Is that food?' Jason smiled, plucking up one of the bags and pulling out a huge beef burger with everything on it.
'We thought you'd be waking up tonight, so we got ya something to eat.' He said, passing the burger over.
'I don't think he'll be able to eat all of that.' Sam said, eyeing the stack of pizzas and other assorted foods. Jason smirked knowingly, moving over to the table.
Dean eyed the strange thing in his hand, so familiar yet different with his new sight. He took a small bite, and shivered in awe. Familiar juicy flavors were magnified, creating an all new experience. It was like revisiting his first experience with such food. His stomach ached for more, and he found himself wolfing it down inelegantly. He was starving!
A glass of a popping soda was held in front of him. He abandoned the food to scull the soda, not seeming to get enough of the caffeine infused liquid. His throat hurt from swallowing so much at once, but he was so thirsty, he care.
'Whoa, slow down, mate!' Jason said, briefly pulling the soda back so Dean wouldn't choke on it, 'There's no rush, man. Now slow down, or your gonna choke.' Dean nodded and sipped at the drink, tempted to upend the contents but taking the shifters advice. It was easier to get down this way.
Almost an hour later, Dean had finished off all three pizzas, as well as a large bag of fish and chips, two more burgers, and three large bottles of soda. Even now, he ravenously bit into a pie, uncaring to the gravy that dripped down his chin. The strange sensations that came from readjusting to his body had long since dissipated, but his insatiable hunger had not.
'How is he able to eat all of that?' Sam asked in wonder, munching on one of the fries Jason had given the tinies from his own stash. He had to hide behind the table to keep Dean from snatching the lot away.
'He's been unconscious for three days after a resurrection,' Jason said, plopping another fry into his mouth, 'He needs all the nutrients and sugar he can get.'
Dean paused in his eating, frowning in thought. He looked up at Jason, almost like he was appraising the young man.
'You killed the demon.' He said. Jason froze at the statement, clearing his throat nervously as he tried to look innocent while he ate.
'Demons are almost impossible to kill,' Dean continued, now looking slightly suspicious, 'How the hell did you do it?' Sam frowned, looking over at the shifter curiously. In all the time they'd been together, he hadn't thought to ask about that. How was he able to do that?
Jason was silent a moment, glancing at Takota as he thought over something. Takota shrugged, munching contentedly on his fry.
Jason sighed, his hand idly rubbing at his heart. He looked conflicted, and hesitant. Finally, he looked both brothers in the eye.
'Can I trust you?' He asked. Sam and Dean glanced at each other. After a moment they nodded. After everything the shifter had done to help them, how could they say otherwise?
Jason sighed, pulling his hand away. The brothers watched in astonishment as something exited his chest, hovering over his hand. It looked like an atom, clear and as delicate as glass. The tiny balls on the outside swirled around its surface in a slow dance, each shifting between the colors associated with his other personalities. Inside the original one was a dark blue hue, almost in the shape of a delicate hand print. And the whole thing was damaged, the faint pulsing highlighting many deep cracks along its surface, penetrating almost to the core. It looked as if it would shatter at any moment.
'Its a spark,' Takota supplied, watching the damaged thing sadly, 'It acts as our heart, and represents our entire being; emotions, psyche... you name it. Jason, being a Master Rank, has a particularly damaged and unstable one.'
The brothers glanced at each other, stunned that the shifter would trust the two in such a vulnerable situation. The spark looked so fail and delicate, so easy to destroy. It would be easy for the hunters to kill him.
But, they wouldn't.
'And that's why I'm so damaged, too. To become a master, one must have all the necessary characteristics that go with it. A strong will, a good heart, a leaders resolve... loosing a loved one, unfortunately... But it's not enough to guarantee it,' Jason said, his eyes never leaving the spark cupped protectively in his hands, 'There are only ever able to be two masters in a generation, a boy and girl, hand picked by the goddess herself. We are literal champions and holders of her power...' The brothers exchanged confused looks, wondering where he was going with this. But he had gone silent, staring at the spark as if in a trance.
'JASON!' Takota yelled, causing the larger shifter to flinch back and scramble to catch the spark before it fell from his hands, 'What he means is, he has divine power running through his veins. That demon never stood a chance against a pure enjion lazer.'
Jason smiled sheepishly, reabsorbing the strange spark. He wouldn't look the brothers' in the eye, his own tinting blue as his insecurities were exposed. It had been a long time since he had exposed himself like that, and only now did it dawn on him how ludicrous the impulsive move had been. Not only could the hunters have killed him, but worse... they could reject him, as other had done upon realizing how damaged and unstable he was. He had grown unusually attached to the strange brothers. He wasn't sure if he would be handle a rejection from them.
After a moment, Dean pulled himself out of the bed, staggering to his feet. Sam instantly chided him - he was in no state to be walking around, surely - while the shifters watched curiously. He ignored them, strolling over to the mini-fridge. He pulled out a couple of beers, tossing one to Jason, who easily caught it. He looked down at the can, sending Dean a questioning look. He just smirked, popping his own open and holding it out in a toast.
'To another successful case.' He said. Jason grinned, popping his own beer can open.
'To new friends.' He said, clanking the can against Dean's. They then chugged down most of their drinks in one go, almost racing each other.
'Oh, don't you two start.' Takota muttered, eyeing Jason disapprovingly.
'We both died this week,' Jason defended, hugging the can protectively as if his sparkmate would force it away, 'We deserve a little treat. Even if he can't keep up with me.'
'Oh, is that a challenge?' Dean demanded. Jason smirked, pulling a large bottle of hardcore whisky from seemingly nowhere.
'Do you accept?' He grinned playfully, borderline flirting. Not that Dean noticed.
Takota rolled his eyes, abandoning his fry to grab Sam and get him away from the drinking game about to commence. The two both rolled their eyes at their partners' antics, but they weren't going to be too close when they began drinking.