I've been looking on Google Maps to see how long, roughly, it would take for the boys to drive back and forward but you have to allow for delays or quicker times either way - I am trying to keep it realistic though. If I've got the shaving or tending to wound bits wrong then please let me know.
Just FYI: The names of the officers in Fruita were from Jensen's IMdB of roles he has played, however Alec didn't have a last name so I went for Scudder, Rupert Graves' character in "Maurice" while the ID of Sam's that Cas uses is also from Jensen's IMdB.
Also "Angel of the Morning" is a The Pretenders song (been performer by many before and after) you might recognise from an episode of FRIENDS.
Anyway, that over with next chapter, here we go.
Dean and Sam pulled up to the base in relative silence except for the cassette player blasting "Highway to Hell".
Sam looked over the car roof as they closed their doors. "Hey, what do you think the shifter and djinn were doing together?"
"Baking cakes." Dean walked around the car. "You know, in between kidnapping and killing people." He shot Sam a look.
Sam huffed. "I mean, why together? We've not seen behaviour like that before."
They got inside the base and locked it behind them with a resounding thud. "I don't know, Sammy. Why don't we have a look inside but I didn't really quiz them too much."
"Yeah, I know." They dumped their stuff on the table. "So what exactly happened in there? Before I saved the day."
Dean looked over his shoulder at Sam with a quirked eyebrow. "Don't even give me that, acting like you're Batman when you wouldn't have needed to help me if you hadn't phoned Cas in the first place."
"I said I was sorry, Dean!" He followed Dean to the shelves and they started looking through the collection. "I wouldn't have had to phone him if you two would have just spoke to each other like adults after you slept together," Dean paused and looked over, "instead of running away."
"Nothing happened before Fruita." Dean looked to the side knowing that that wasn't true. "Well..." Sam looked over. "Alright fine, he kissed me and I freaked out okay? That's why he left the diner in the first place." Sam sighed and shook his head. "And don't start Sam, you don't think this is hard for me?" Dean took out a book and pointed it at Sam. "I had a normal life with Lisa and Ben for a year when you were in the cage and look what happened to them! Now? Now they know me as the asshole who hit their car. Nothing more. So just don't!" He stormed away to the table.
Sam turned. "Wait, so this has nothing to do with Cas being a guy, this is because Cas is... Cas?"
Dean sighed. "Yes." He threw his book down. "Although the guy thing came as a bit of a shock too." Sam laughed and Dean relaxed a little. It felt good to say things, to just say what was in his head, to confide in his brother instead of bottling it up. Dammit Cas.
Sam grabbed a couple books and sat opposite Dean, pulling his laptop out of his bag and sliding it further down the table out of the way.
Dean looked up then back down, speaking in a low voice to his book. "And we didn't sleep together."
Sam looked to the side. "I don't wanna know, not even a little bit."
Dean smirked then thought about it. "Are you going to enlighten me then, Mr Banner?" Sam looked up, not going to point out that Dean mixed them up. "How you knew she was a djinn before you even walked into the warehouse?"
Sam exhaled resting his arms on the table. "I had a look at the original footage of the stuff HALO captured on the woman that kept showing up with the cars."
"Yeah, they showed me the pictures too?" Dean leaned on his closed book waiting.
"They didn't have any more copies of the pictures, I was in too much of a panic to wait so they just showed me the original footage, that's when I saw the glare in the eyes." Dean realised. "They figured it was just bad lighting, spent twenty minutes trying to get a picture without the glare and those are the ones they showed you and Cas."
Dean narrowed his eyes at how Sam was trying to hide how proud of himself he was. "Smart-ass."
Sam laughed. "I guess that's why I'm your boss."
"Yeah, that and the hair." Sam looked up. "Makes you look like ten years older." Dean tried not to laugh as he opened his book and Sam tried to pretend he knew Dean was joking.
.
"I don't care, Sam!" Dean walked around the car. "We are not getting a smoothie-maker!" They had spent the past couple of hours trying to find anything in their library about different monsters working together but, with the exception of the odd travelling show that targets people just like those clowns they dealt with had, they had failed.
"Fine. you don't need to get one. I will." Sam argued back less than amused at being told what to do at his age.
"There is no way..." Dean trailed off when they heard music in the distance. What was that?
They looked down the road outside the bunker, a car was driving towards them and they both recognised it. It was the '69 Camero that had been in the parking lot of the warehouse. It wasn't Sam's car after all, oh well. The lyrics of "Rock Me" filled the air for a few seconds, Dean looked to Sam who smiled at the car then looked to Dean before it fell. Dean was going to have to take Sam's phone privileges away.
The music cut off and the door opened, the sun making it hard to see in the wind shield, Dean realised he was holding his breath. Was it? Of course it was. Cas reached over and picked up the tray before he climbed out of the car, he didn't look in their direction until he closed the car door. He turned and caught Sam's eye first. Playing it cool. Cool with sunglasses on. Definitely.
Cas walked towards the pair, on the driver's side of the Impala as Sam walked around towards the back where Cas stopped beside him. "Hey Cas." Sam said then looked at the floor. He knew. And he noticed the big bite on Cas' neck.
Cas took his sunglasses off. Casually. "Hello Sam." His voice was choked.
"What are you doing here?" Dean asked then glared at Sam. "As if I don't already know."
Cas finally looked at Dean then just smiled. "If you already know then why are you asking?" Sam tried but he couldn't keep his laugh in. Cas and Dean looked to him and he feigned coughing.
Dean gestured to the tray with three cups on it. "And what's that?"
Cas took a cup out, handed it to Sam then walked towards Dean. "Coffee." He held out the tray and Dean hesitated. "I did say I was going to get some."
He looked to Sam who took a drink of his and headed back to his side of the car. He shifted to look back to Cas, when Sam's door closed Cas' smile changed from overly-confident to apologetic. "Don't do that again." Dean spoke low. Cas shook his head, Dean paused then took his cup. "We need to talk," Cas nodded as he took his own cup from the tray and held the cardboard in his left hand at his side, "later. Get in." He turned and got in the driver's side.
Cas smirked to himself and got in the back seat, shuffling to be in between the front seats.
Dean turned the engine on. "Nice car by the way." Sam looked between them."Was that Steppenwolf playing?" He looked in the mirror and Cas nodded and looked to the cup in his hand. "Nice."
Sam scoffed. "The gift of life is thine." He muttered under his breath.
"What?" Dean looked.
"Nothing." Sam smiled unconvincingly and Dean turned the car around, passing Cas'. "We're just going to pick up some things." Sam aimed at the back seat.
"Which doesn't include a smoothie maker." Dean warned and Sam sighed before he started up again. "But Dean, nothing!"
.
Dean had drove to the same supermarket that the pair had bought Cas' now favourite leather jacket from and Sam had walked ahead after a look from Dean. He was going to get the smoothie maker no matter what.
"So..." Dean then exhaled and Cas looked. "Got your clothes back then." Dean internally winced, what the hell was he doing? He was nervous and he sounded like a child.
"Yeah..." Cas then exhaled and Dean looked. "Got your brother back then." Cas internally winced, what the hell was he doing? He was nervous and he sounded like a child.
"Yeah..." Dean said as they walked in and he grabbed a basket. "You coming back to the base?" Dean rushed the words out and he hadn't meant to.
"Well, my car is there." Cas said it and then wanted to punch himself. It took a lot for Dean to ask him that and Cas had been a smart-ass. "I mean, I have to come back but I don't have to stay," Dean nodded, that was true, "unless..." Cas stopped and Dean looked to him. They stood in the middle of the aisle - processed meats and pastries on one side and microwave meals on the other.
"Unless?"
Sam came back down the aisle, too excited and ready to argue with his smoothie maker.
"Unless you want me to?" Cas said it and then looked behind him at the meat.
Sam stopped a few steps away realising he may have just walked into an awkward moment. Dean and Cas looked and Sam just stood trying to find something to say.
"Just get the damn smoothie maker." Dean stepped back and ushered him to walk through them. Sam didn't need told twice, he walked quickly down the aisle looking back just once at the pair. "And milk!" Dean added, annoyed at how big-brothery he sounded, without looking away from Cas and Sam kept walking and nodding. "Are you going to take off again?" Dean's face was suddenly very serious. "Because if you are then it's better if you don't stay." Cas was surprised and couldn't talk for a second. "You wanted me to say things as they are. Well, that's how it is. If you're going to walk away, do it now."
Cas leaned over and took the basket from Dean's hands. "Come on, before Sam gets a mini-fridge." He walked down the aisle, stopping a second to grab a pack of sausage rolls and then he threw them in the basket.
Dean looked, smiled, and then walked after him. "I wouldn't mind a mini-fridge, actually."
.
The three managed to more than fill a basket, all of them holding onto things to save getting another one. The pair followed Sam into a check-out without looking, still acting a little weird with each other but they were laughing at something stupid, a little giddy I suppose.
"Back again?"
Dean and Cas looked up to Jennifer and Sam turned from her to them as he settled his smoothie maker down at the top end of the belt.
Dean spoke as he finished laughing. "Hey, how are ya?" Dean looked back to Cas as they shared the smirk at the end of a really funny joke.
Cas and he started putting things on the belt and she didn't answer, recognising it as more of a greeting than a question.
"Dean," Sam sighed, "we forgot toilet paper." He started walking and Cas put his hands out.
"I'll get it." Sam muttered a thanks and Cas took a couple of steps backwards. "Anything else?"
Dean looked through everything on the belt quickly, pointing as he went through the mental list he would never admit to having. "No." He realised. "Oh wait," Cas stopped and listened, "could you grab a pack of spaghetti?" Cas nodded and Dean spoke, mid-turn. "Thanks babe." He stopped, looking at the belt and widened his eyes. Cas caught it and kept walking, not turning around because he didn't want him to see his bloody goofy smile. Sam looked to Dean with raised eyebrows. "Is he gone?" Sam nodded and Dean relaxed a little. He looked to Sam as he walked towards him. "Shut up."
"I didn't say anything." Sam put his hands up, letting Dean push passed him.
"Yeah? Keep it that way." Dean smiled to Jennifer politely and helped her pack.
"Sure thing..." Sam walked behind Dean and leaned in to speak in his ear. "Babe."
Dean sighed. "What happened to you being Teller?" He raised his eyebrows and Sam held his hands up again before zipping his mouth. "Yeah, good. Make yourself useful, kid." Dean pointed to the bags as Sam stopped on his right side.
Jennifer was trying not to laugh but her and Sam exchanged a smile at Dean's embarrassment. She didn't really understand why, he had called him 'hon' and 'angel' before. But of course, that was different.
Dean had widened his eyes for two reasons.
One, because they hadn't had a chance to talk yet, not properly; all they knew was that there was something there and everything was about to change even more than it already had.
And two, because it had rolled so easily off of his tongue. He automatically shortened 'Castiel' to 'Cas' because it was easier and drew less attention to them in the 21st century. He had used 'hon' in front of Jennifer the first time to imply they were together and then had to use 'angel' to hint to Cas what he was trying to do considering he had accidentally called him it in the motel bathroom.
This? This was different. Babe. 'Babe' implied relationship, 'babe' implied possibly something sexual had occurred between them, 'babe' implied being comfortable, 'babe' implied more than friends at least when guys said it. 'Babe' implied a great many things that Dean and Cas had yet to talk about, consider or even feel. Babe implied a future.
When Cas returned he put the toilet paper and spaghetti down on the belt and leaned, on the side next to Dean, fussing with his own hair. They all got out their wallets and found the money between them. "You're paying for that thing." Dean pointed to the smoothie maker and scrunched up his face.
Sam sighed and dug further into his wallet. "In a few days when you start using it I want half back."
"Well, keep wanting." Dean muttered and Sam mocked him. Cas and Jennifer started laughing and the brother's turned to look between them. "I'm going to give you a free pass, Jennifer. But you are in trouble later." He pointed to Cas with his free right hand and Sam wolf-whistled. "Oh, grow up!" He handed Jennifer money and then fussed with Sam's hair as he pushed passed. "You're carrying it too, brother."
Sam pushed Dean away, looked to Cas who was trying not to laugh. Sam gave Jennifer the rest of the money and picked up the smoothie machine before glancing to Cas. "Shut up."
Cas waited, mouth pursed together in a little smile and then laughed as he picked up the remaining bags and followed Sam and Dean out of the centre.
.
The ride back was a little less awkward but Cas was brooding a little. He sat behind Dean's chair with the bags beside him and Sam's smoothie maker close enough to put his right arm on. He thought about the baby girl in the back of the car that would crash into the tree. The tree that came from the fur of a long extinct animal.
"Are you okay, Castiel?" Sam looked to him as his face clearly showed his deep contemplation.
"Do you know what 'sombre de la muerte' means?" Sam knew but he felt that Cas had more to say and Dean focused on the road. "Many many years ago, before civilisation had really taken off these lands were dominated, not by mankind, but by animals." Cas looked out the window as they slowly moved through the night. "All manner of beautiful creatures, the likes of which your kind will never see again, they stalked and surrounded these lands governed only by the laws of nature set down by my Father." This got Dean's attention. "There was a creature, you wouldn't know it and your kind won't know more about it for a few thousand years at least, the locals called it a name," he hesitated, "in a language long dead now, but it would evolve as the language of that region did, today it would be known as 'sombre de la muertre' when stories of it's deeds reached what would later be known as Mexico."
Sam and Dean shared a look.
"It translates to 'shadow of death' and it is the only way the people knew it. It never left any evidence of it's existence, it's appearance was similar to that of a puma but it had it was saber-toothed and communicated only through low level growls," Cas smirked to the side neither brother could see in the darkness thinking of the night he and Dean had and how he had thought it their last, "on such a frequency that it could be heard by very few animals. As for the others, the would detect something, the way an animal does but could never see anything. It was such that when the others did detect it, they almost instantly dismissed it, most not even reacting to it dismissing it to the sound of the wind through the trees. It attacked in such a way that it severed the animals vocal chords instantly, wrapping it's mouth around the neck and piercing them with their long teeth. Because of that the other animals in the pack of family never even knew it had struck until the morning or when they looked for the missing member."
Sam and Dean shared another look.
"Are you okay, Cas?" Dean looked in his mirror but Cas didn't even turn.
"It stalked the nights and it was never seen during the day - not by other animals. It moved through the forrests like a shadow and killed with such ease, it could have picked off heards at a time without so much as a bruise to it's own skin but it didn't. They moved in families of at least four - a child, it's parents and a member of one of the parents' families, usually a sibling. The siblings would leave the other partner and the child at home and go out in the night in search of food, now they only ever killed enough for the next day so that the next day they could hide."
"Why did they need to hide?" Sam turned in his seat to face Cas.
"Because their distinctive look made them deadly in the darkness but weaker than any other animal during the day. Everything about them was designed for the long nights of winter where food was sparse, that meant their vision, fur and movement. During the days they had to hide or they were more than vulnerable to attacks from animals with advantages in the light."
There was a few seconds before they pulled into the dirt road. "Why two of them?" Dean muttered and Cas looked around. "If they hunted so well and so little, why did they need the two siblings?"
Cas smiled. "They didn't need two, they enjoyed hunting together." The car stopped outside the base. "Surely you understand that."
Sam and Dean shared a more awkward look before Cas started to hand some of the bags forward. Dean took them from Sam. "No way, you wanted it so you're carrying it." Sam sighed and Cas got out of the car with the bags left in the back seat, Sam followed quickly and opened the back seat on his side.
"You developed a phobia of doing the heavy lifting?" Cas joked and started to walk around the car.
Sam dragged the smoothie maker out of the car. "Wasn't that when Cas needed carried though, was it?" He smiled and Cas turned questioningly. "Wouldn't let me help." Sam nudged the car door closed.
"Really?" Cas laughed.
Dean thought about saying something and then gave up and kept walking. Cas and Sam shared a smile before following him. "I did let you help. You got to take care of me." He smiled.
"Oh yeah because I just love wrapping up shifters who look like my brother," they ran down the stairs and into the main library area, "then sitting by the side of the road for hours before burning and burying you." Sam scrunched up his eyebrows. "It."
"Burn and bury?" Dean question as he dumped the bags on the table in the kitchen.
Sam put the box on the side of the bunker and brushed his hair back. "Yeah, so."
"You need to cut that. Some demon will grab you from behind one day and I'll say I told you so." Cas laughed a little as he walked back into the main area. "I dunno why you're laughing, look at yours." Dean pointed as he followed Cas. Sam turned to watched them laughing and felt left out. Not jealous of the attention Cas was getting at all. Nope.
"Stop!" Cas was laughing as Dean tried to grab his hair from different sides. Cas eventually grabbed his arms and Dean tried to move them anyway resulting in Cas swaying from side to side. "Dean, sto-" When Dean brought his right hand up again the back of Cas' left hand hit his own face and he stopped talking.
Dean used his right hand to cup Cas' face, both still laughing. "Oh, you alright?"
Dean was trying to stifle his laughter but he couldn't and Cas tried to be mad that Dean was laughing at him having just hit himself in the face. "Don't you laugh at me."
They both remembered singing in the car and their argument. Dean stopped and Cas dropped his hands. "Sorry." Dean mumbled before running his right hand through Cas' hair briefly. "Could do with a cut though."
Sam stood watching his brother and his friend smiling more than he had seen them smile in all the time he had known them and then he felt like a child. He felt like that little boy who had watched his brother shave and then be hurt by his father. He felt like the kid who had pined after their father so much that he never even realised how much Dean was his dad. And here was his brother, the hunter, finally getting the chance to not only be needed but be wanted. And Sam felt awful and wonderful at the same time.
"I don't know how you're not ill." Dean was talking to Cas but he sighed and looked to the side. "You going to hover there gawking all day, kid?" Sam suddenly stood up properly and the pair turned to look at him. "Does this bother you?"
Sam shook his head. "Just seemed like a private moment." He shrugged.
"Then why were you watching you little perv?" Dean said but he smiled at Sam. "Anyway, listen to this." Sam nodded up a little as Dean walked passed him to the bags on the counter. Cas followed a little and they all started putting things away. "There's a knock on the room door," he was telling Sam but he kept address Cas at various parts, "that night you turned up," Cas nodded, "and I open it to him but he's soaked through." Sam looked to Cas. "Absolutely sodden." Dean and Sam were busying around each other putting things in various places as they came out of the bags whereas Cas picked up a bunch of things that went in the fridge at once and, as a result, was just standing with the fridge door open being handed things from the Winchester's as they came to hand. "And then a few nights later, we go to a bar, we score-" Cas shifted uncomfortably and Dean stopped putting BBQ sauce in the cabinet while looking at him. "Sorry." Cas put his right hand up to say it didn't matter. "Anyway, he sits outside in the pouring rain and look at him, not even a sniffle."
"Sniffle?" Sam laughed handing a pack of meat to Cas. "I can't believe you still call it that."
"You're just mad because you were ill all the damn time." Sam sighed and Dean turned to Cas. "He was! Every couple of months he caught something."
"Well, I'm surprised yours haven't fallen off yet." Dean stopped, his face surprised and Sam's a little worried he had said something to upset the new dynamic but Cas started laughing. "What?"
"No, nothing." Cas tried not to laugh but Dean and Sam wanted to know. "I was just thinking of the time that he-witch gave you the clap."
Dean burst out laughing and started walking away handing the others beer. "Oh yeah!" He pointed to Sam. "Dirty boy!"
Sam and Cas started to follow him, all three bickering. Sam saying that that time didn't count and he couldn't believe Cas would bring that up. Dean loving that Cas reminded them and that Sam shouldn't cast the first stone. Cas correcting Dean's quote and apologising to Sam.
There was an air of domesticity in the bunker in Lebanon, Kansas. Outside on the road two cars sat side by side as the air kicked up the dirt right down to the main road where the traffic was dead for the night.
But beyond that there was a change in the wind.
It swept through Kansas, Colorado, Utah and California. Along highways, passed Jennifer's house as she switched everything off for the night, over lakes and new graves, through the open warehouse window and empty parking lot, passed the disabled parking space outside the station as Scudder pulled away, ignoring the doorways that homeless people hunkered down in for the night, passed flats windows as a mother looked out waiting for her husband to stumble in later than he said he would, hoping he wouldn't wake the baby then through the forest tickling trees that used to be seeds
You see, word was starting to travel - the Winchester's had a new addition to the family, a new dynamic, a new secret.
A new weakness.
Something monstrous, this way, comes.
I was going to leave the story there but after a couple of reviews and a lot of thinking I've decided to continue it. Leaving the chapter as it is though.., I like the idea of trouble always brewing and never knowing if and when it's going to come. New chapter up soon! (Had to rewrite it because the website gave me a login screen when I pressed save. So mad at myself for not copying it first.) Anyway! Let me know what you think so far!