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-o-
Nikki
She got out of the bathroom, saying goodnight to Sam as he came up the stairs. She could feel his eyes boring into the back of her head. She knew he had questions about why things were so weird between her and his brother. But she couldn't talk about it, at least not with him. And also because there was nothing to talk about.
Nikki closed her bedroom door, leaning against it. She was starting to get really frustrated with how things were between her and Dean at the moment. It was weird, everything was weird. And it had impact on the rest of the dynamics in the house.
They had not talked about it, except from Dean saying it was just a slip and she had hurriedly agreed. Mostly because Dean seemed so uncomfortable and Nikki didn't want to make a fool out of her self-asking why he had kissed her.
No one knew about what had happened two days ago except for Jenny, of course. She had been the one to find her, after all. But to see something was off, it wasn't that hard to notice. She knew Sam had questioned Dean, but he didn't talk. She had overheard Bobby asking Jenny, but she hadn't said anything either.
Nikki drew a breath when the memory of Deans lips against hers, flooded through her mind. Kissing him had just felt….right. They had crossed the line and could never go back to just being friends. Even if they called it a slip she would never forget how kissing him made her feel. Lately they pretended to be just friends. Of course they were friends, but after the angry, almost desperate kiss two days ago, they had this weird thing going on. She never could relax when he was close to her, or even in the same room.
It had gotten better, though, she thought. When they spoke it was awkward, at best. Not to speak of when he had sat down next to her on the couch earlier that night. She sighed, putting on her AC/DC t-shirt she used to sleep in. All she could think about as she went to bed was his green eyes that lit her skin on fire just by looking at her. Or when his voice sent shivers down her spine every time he said her name. As time had passed after the kiss, they had managed to get more back on track, though. But it was still weird, and she didn't like it.
-o-
Jenny
The tension in the house was almost exhausting. The way Dean and Nikki kept gravitating around each other was sucking everyone else in, and as a result everyone was on edge. And tomorrow was New Year's Eve. Jenny hoped the party they were planning would ease the tension somewhat.
She decided to get her mind off things, and went outside to play with her Hellhounds. Her Hellhounds. Surreal.
She was instantly greeted by Lucy when she came outside. The dog almost seemed stressed, and Jenny frowned in confusion. "What's wrong, girl?" Lucy tugged her sleeve, and Jenny followed.
"Oh my god." Jenny's voice came out in a whisper when she saw what Lucy wanted to show her. A tiny Hellhound. "Oh my god, Lucy, you're a mum!"
Lucy nudged the tiny creature towards Jenny. She picked up the little Hellpuppy, resulting in a happy yap. Lucy sat down, and Jenny looked at her. "How does this work? Do you want me to take care of him?" This resulted in a happy bark from Lucy, and Jenny smiled at her. "Very well. I promise I will take good care of him."
-o-
Jenny sat in her room with the Hellpuppy, and wondered what to do. What did a Hellpuppy need? She had no idea, but perhaps The King of Hell had. "Crowley? Could you stop by, when you get the time? It's no emergency, so take your time." Barely a minute passed before he was there, and she shook her head with a smile. "I would think The King of Hell to have. well, a Hell to rule? Are you never busy?"
He cocked his head at her. "I am never too busy for you , love. What's the non-emergency?"
Jenny pointed to the corner where her new Hellpuppy was snoozing on a blanket. "We have an addition to the family."
Crowley turned to look, and gave a disbelieving laugh. "I don't even know why I am surprised. I should have expected this to happen."
Jenny narrowed her eyebrows. "But you are surprised? Why?"
He chuckled. "Love, you have no idea of how rare this is. It's Lucy's, I gather?" Jenny nodded, and Crowley raised an eyebrow at her. "Well, the last time this happened was..let me think..hundred and four years ago."
Jenny stared at him. "Seriously? So why now?"
Crowley shrugged. "Not sure, to be honest. It's so rare that no one really knows much about it."
Jenny looked at the Hellpuppy. "So what do I do now? Is there a special Hellpuppy-food I need to buy? Does he need a Hellpuppy-house?"
Crowley laughed. "Not at all. He can eat, but does not need to. They are Hellhounds, love. They are used to Hell. They can take care of themselves even as puppies." He paused for a moment. "A Hellhound raised by a caring, happy human. What is the world coming to?"
-o-
Jenny was completely lost in thought after Crowley left. He had kissed her. Again. Nothing earth-shattering, just a small, soft kiss, and a 'I'll see you later, love' before vanishing the next second.
What was going on between them? Was this the beginning of a relationship? What did he think this was? They had not talked about..well, anything, when she thought about it. What was she going to do? Talk to him? She thought about it for a moment, and no matter how she pictured the situation, it just felt surreal and ridiculous. Asking The King of Hell about his feelings? Yeah, absurd. Jenny had no idea what to do.
Jenny sighed. "Come on, Ragnaros, let's go for a walk." The happy bark from the puppy lightened her mood, to the point where she was giggling from his excitement when putting on her coat.
She backed out the door, giggling and clapping her hands at the puppy. "Good boy, Ragnaros! You want to play? Come on!" She had named the Hellpuppy after her favourite boss in World of Warcraft, which happened to be a badass demon made of fire, and the place he could be found in the game was filled with lava and fire, patrolled by Corehounds. Corehounds being the World of Warcraft equivalent to Hellhounds. Jenny found the name suitable.
"That's cheating, boy! No zapping! You have to run if you want to catch me!" She was running away from Ragnaros in a fit of laughter, and squealed when she suddenly slammed into something. The something toppled over, and a moment later she found herself almost lying on top of a woman. "Oh my god! I am so sorry!" Taking a closer look, she recognised the woman. "Sheriff Mills! Oh, awesome! I love you on the show!"
Jenny got up and held out a hand to help the sheriff up. Brushing off her clothes, sheriff Mills looked at her, and Jenny was somewhat impressed with how calm she looked. "So, it's true then. We are a television-show in a parallel universe. Well, that's just..completely insane." The sheriff held out a hand and Jenny took it. "Jody Mills. Bobby told me about his new houseguests. Nice to finally meet you."
Jenny gave her a sheepish smile. "Uh, Jenny Thalassian. Nice to meet you too. And, uh, sorry for the whole tackling you to the ground-thing."
Jody smiled. "No problem." She raised an eyebrow. "Although, what in the world were you doing? A few years ago I would have had you admitted to a psychiatric ward from seeing something like that. But that was before meeting Bobby. Now, I instantly assume there is a perfectly logical explanation." She rolled her eyes. "Scratch that. I assume there is a perfectly insane explanation, which will once again alter my view on the world."
Jenny laughed and thought for a moment before retrieving the holy-fire-glasses from her pocket, holding them out to the sheriff. "Before you put them on, let me just say one thing. They are not dangerous. I promise." Jody looked curiously at the glasses, and Jenny continued. "Uh, put these on, and you can meet my Hellhounds."
-o-
Sheriff Jody Mills was actually sitting on the ground with her arms full of Ragnaros when Bobby came out of the house. He stopped for a moment before realising what was going on, and Jenny was surprised to see him pull a pair of glasses from his front pocket. It seemed Growley was growing on the gruff man, to the point where he carried holy-fire-glasses with him at all times.
Jody laughed when she saw Bobby. "Hey Bobby!"
Bobby smiled back at Jody, and Jenny suddenly remembered the chemistry between the hunter and the sheriff. Oh, yes. This was so happening. Making a quick decision, she turned to Jody. "We are having a New Year's Eve party tomorrow, you should come!"
-o-
Jody had done some digging, and could inform them that Thomas Miller was out of town, and wouldn't return until the second of January at the earliest. So they had decided to wait until he returned before continuing the 'Search for The Holy Blade' quest.
Sheriff Jody Mills had also accepted the party-invitation, to Jenny's excitement.
Jenny snapped out of her chain of thoughts. Huh. Crowley was in the house. Or, no, not the house. But he was here somewhere.
She found him in the garage. With Sam and Dean. Entering said garage, she was met with three identical expressions. Had she just busted them in something? The three of them together? Placing her hands on her hips, she cocked her head at them. "And what exactly are you doing?" She got three murmurs of 'nothing', and raised an eyebrow at them. "Honestly? So the aura of shit-we-are-so-busted that surrounds you is just for show?"
She tried to step closer, but Crowley stepped forward, blocking her path. "Now, love, don't ruin the surprise. You'll just have to be patient like the rest."
-o-
Jenny still had no idea what they were planning when she went to bed that night.