It was early when Jessi was awakened by a sliver of sunlight that had made its way through the thin slit between the curtains at the window. With a string of irritable cursing, she rolled to escape its glare only roll right off her bed. Yelping, Jessi's eyes snapped open, it was by sheer instinct alone that allowed her to save herself from the insult of landing face first onto the hardwood floor. For a few moments, she held herself in a plank position as her brain caught up with the rest of her. Grumbling she rolled into a sitting position and leaned her head back against her bed.
While her mind still hadn't fully caught up, the shot of adrenaline released into her bloodstream made it highly unlikely she was going to be able to go back to sleep at this juncture. With little other recourse, she glared at the offending window. How dare it allow sunlight into her room and wake her? For a moment, she contemplated throwing a boot in retribution, but Ella's voice in her head stayed her hand.
'Best case you make a racket, worst case you break the window, not worth it Jessi.'
"I didn't," Jessi protested as though Ella were there to hear her. "See I have maturity, sometimes."
'If only sometimes were all the time.' Ella teased in return.
"Speaking of the devil," Jessi sighed as she pushed herself up to wake Ella only to find the bed vacant.
Her brow furrowed at the realization and surprise, she'd expected Ella to have nightmares that would wake her at some point during the night, or at the very least to find her cousin to have camped out next to her. However, it explained why she'd fallen out of bed. Ella should've been there blocking that edge. It wasn't clumsiness on Jessi's part, it was Ella's fault and that was her story, she was sticking to it.
Uneasiness slipped through her leaving her wondering the reason why Ella hadn't woken her. More than likely it was the combination of a lack of sleep and the pain medication, but Jessi wouldn't be able to settle until she'd checked on her cousin.
Slipping into a pair of comfortable yoga pants and a sweatshirt she twisted her hair up into a messy bun as she crept out her bedroom. Glancing down the hallway she could see the rumpled blankets at the end of the couch. Someone had been restless the night before she mused, it was probably best to continue to move as silently as possible. After all, why wake the grouch on the couch if it wasn't necessary? If Dean wasn't neck deep in a hunt, he tended to be less of a morning person than she was.
Cracking Ella's door, she froze, her eyes darting between the two bodies entwined on the bed, the sight leaving her brain blank. It refused to process the image in front of her, turning she moved down the hallway to check the couch just in case she was losing her mind.
Nope, no Dean, it wasn't just a figment of her imagination. Jessi turned on her heel to head back down the hall to stare into Ella's room as her mind struggling to wrap around what her eyes were seeing. Dean lay on his back while Ella was curled into him, the robe she wore had worked its way loose, but Dean's body covered what was bare, while the sheets and blankets draped around their waists. It was pure luck that brain bleach wouldn't be a necessity.
Sighing Jessi rubbed at her eyes, really she shouldn't be surprised, it wasn't as if they hadn't been dancing around this. What she hadn't expected was either of them to manage to get out of their own way so soon.
"I need coffee before I can even..." She mumbled as she stumbled down the empty hallway toward the kitchen where alluring scent of coffee that was surprisingly wafting toward her. It beckoned her with the promise of the life affirming brew she so urgently needed.
Jessi often forgot they even owned a coffee pot, not that Ella's overly prepared soul would've let her get away without having one. One never knew when there might be guests or something terrible and unforeseen happening, like Madame's coffee shop not opening one morning.
As she poured herself a cup, the sound of her phone ringing had her pausing for a moment. Muttering to herself, she left the coffee and hurried back toward her room. Snatching it off her nightstand she glanced at the display only to groan before she grudgingly answered.
"Uncle Jem."
"You're awake, I'm impressed." Jem's voice was brisk, though with a slight distance that told her he was splitting his focus " Or did you even bother to go to bed?"
"I slept. The damn sun woke me up." She grumbled at him.
"Heaven forbid the sun dare to shine this morning," Jem returned dryly, without waiting for her response he continued. "I've fixed the schedule at the bar today, so you're off until the wedding this evening. You need to get packed since you'll be heading out early tomorrow and Ella could probably use the help with research. Remember, Ma will be here this afternoon. I'll do my best to keep her away from the bar until this evening, but for the love of all that's holy try to lay low today."
"You got my shift covered?"
It was by far the least important part of the conversation, but it was the one she was stuck on. Apparently, the wonders abounded this morning.
"Yes, I'll need you and Ella down here at 5:30 to start set up so use the time you have wisely."
"Sure."
"Tonight, Jessi. Don't be late and don't forget about your grandmother," Jem growled brusquely before he hung up the phone leaving her to stare at the receiver.
"Have I entered an alternate universe?"
Her voice rang with her disbelief and utter confusion. You had to be on your death bed for Jem to consider rearranging the schedule at least Ella and Jessi, the damn thing was practically carved weekly into stone. She couldn't help wondering just exactly how worried he was about this hunt, he'd been confident but here in the eleventh hour he didn't seem quite so certain
"Jesus, I need coffee." Jessi said rubbing the bridge of her nose and tossing the phone on her bed before she made her way back to the kitchen. She found she needed it more now that she had prior to Jem's call, and it'd been a desperate need then.
Picking up the cup she'd left she took a deep drink and began to attempt to process everything that had been thrown at her this morning. The first thing was Ella and Dean. It seemed more than likely her cousin had woken up the night before and Dean had taken care of it. There were little doubts of the feelings on both sides and as much as loved Ella, as much as Jessi's instinct was to protect her, she also loved Dean. He was the big brother she'd never had and quite frankly she'd never wanted, still didn't want some days.
Jessi's stomach growled irritably reminding her that in everything that had happened she'd forgotten to eat dinner. Taking her cup with her she found bacon sitting on the refrigerator shelf just below a carton of eggs.
"Now if only the bacon fairy would wave her magic wand and presto all done," She pouted at the breakfast meat on the fridge shelf. "Unfortunately, the bacon fairy is shacked up with a damn heathen."
Shutting the fridge, she took a few steps to glare down the hallway at Ella's closed door, pouting. When no one appeared at her mental urging, she wrinkled her nose and sighed heavily before she took out the eggs and bacon to start breakfast herself
"Fantastic, I guess I have to be the freaking bacon fairy, oh how the mighty have fallen," Jessi muttered as she turned the oven on and rummaged through the cabinets for a baking sheet. Laying out the strips of bacon as she waited for the oven to heat. Finishing she washed her hands and popped the pan into the oven before returning to the fridge. Finding strawberries, raspberries and blackberries she took them out and set about cleaning them for a fresh berry salad.
Ella drifted into consciousness, the feeling of comfort and warmth that made her want to burrow further in and drift off again. That was unusual, while she wouldn't call herself a morning person by any means, once she woke that was it, there was no hoping of going back to sleep.
Little thoughts would begin from the moment her alarm went off, or the morning began to filter brightly into her room. Random reminders popping up reminding her that she would need to be to class soon, or she was opening downstairs, or there was inventory to do, or a thousand other things she had to take care of. Her mind might start sluggishly, but the never-ending list of what she needed to handle often couldn't wait. It's what coffee had been discovered for.
It was a testament to her exhaustion and comfort level that those little zinging reminders were slow to start. Her first actual thought wasn't of how she needed to get out of bed and get started on her day, instead it was an abstract thought of how comfortable her pillow was. When she moved the hand that lay next to her face she found it was smooth, firm, and there was a warmth radiating from it rather than an echo of her own body temperature.
Still, she was so warm and comfortable… and sore. Stretching she found her body pressing against a hard surface, her body tensed as her eyes blinked open to find she was laying on a muscular chest. Her head tilted up to find the lines of worry and unease that so often creased his face had been smoothed away with sleep leaving him looking calm, almost peaceful.
When she tried to slip away, his arms only tightened, with a frustrated sigh she tried again, but he was too strong.
"Dean, let go," she grumbled drilling her finger in a sensitive spot on his side, he grunted but didn't release her. The smile that ghosted across his face so quickly she almost missed it told her he wasn't any more asleep than she was. More than likely he'd woken the moment she'd tensed; his instincts were too sharp not to.
"Dean," she hissed drilling him again.
"Don't wanna get up," he mumbled his eyes slitting open, the green with its rings of brown so clear this morning, his lips turned up in a smirk. A metallic clattering from the general direction of the kitchen had both of them tensing, but the rather impressive string of curses that followed told them it was Jessi.
"Shit, Jessi's already up, what time is it?" Ella demanded as she glanced at her clock. To her surprised to find it still relatively early, she was even more surprised at the faint scent that drifted from the kitchen.
"Is that bacon I smell?" Dean asked curiously, cocking an eyebrow at her. "Wait, if you're here who in the hell is cooking."
"Jessi," Ella replied as she stood and straightened her robe before she tightened the belt around her waist.
"Jessi? How sure are you it's your cousin in kitchen and how sure are you that a shape shifter hasn't taken her place, or maybe she's been possessed?"
"Pretty sure," Ella chuckled, her eyes sparkling with amusement. "I could see how you might be confused, but she's actually an excellent cook. Nana, Aunt Charlotte, and Aunt Ellen wouldn't have let us get away without learning how to cook and do it well. Still, she doesn't love it, not like I do and in order to be really good you have to love it. It's the only thing that makes me a better. now and then she gets a wild hair apparently, this morning is one of them. Though it's just as likely she's trying to bribe me."
"For what?"
"Let's go see shall we."
He groaned and pulled the pillow over his head.
"Come on Dean," Ella laughed tugging the blankets away. "We'll have to face her sooner than later." His reply was too muffled but from his tone she guessed he was arguing. "Fine, I'll go by myself, some big brave Hunter you are afraid of a tiny woman."
"Tiny she may be, but she's got a tongue like a viper," she heard him call as she left him in the bedroom and headed for the kitchen.
Jessi glanced up from where she was cutting berries. Ella only raised an eyebrow in response to her cousin's questioning expression.
"You're awfully cheerful this morning," Jessi said carefully as she took down a mug and filled a cup that she left black before taking down a second.
"Perhaps," was all Ella replied with a shrug. Glancing back at her cousin, Jessi could see the twinkle in her eyes. She continued to watch her cousin for a moment as Ella mixed cream into her coffee.
"I told you if you got laid it'd do wonders for you."
Ella shrugged off Jessi's dig as she took a drink of her coffee choosing to ignore it all together.
"I'm not complaining mind you, but I have to ask, where did this windfall come from?"
She asked instead gesturing to the bowl her cousin was whipping scrambled eggs in. Jessi offered a shrug of her own before she answered.
"Jem gave me the day off and we need fuel, there's research that needs to be done despite the fact you've been fraternizing with the hired muscle."
"When was I hired?"
Both girls spared a glance for Dean as he looked between the two of them expectantly.
"I'm not getting paid here, what I do, I do out of the goodness of my heart."
"Ella pays you, from the happy little smile on your face while you slept this morning told me you've been paid well."
"Hey," Ella snapped. "I'm not a prostitute, I'm not paying for protection by favors in the bedroom."
"Why not? There are certainly wives that do more for less," Jessi shrugged.
"Good grief Jessi," was all Ella said as she let her head drop into her hands unable to even begin to articulate a retort to that. Nearly as quickly as her head hit her hands, it snapped back up again. "Wait, Jem gave you the day off?"
"The miracles today never cease, you got laid, which I hope will put you and sweet cheeks over there in a significantly better mood and I got the morning off to do research as well as prep for the hunt. Let's be real though, you'll be doing the research and I'll be making breakfast, it's the lesser of the two evils. Why don't you two hit the showers?"
"I took one last night," Ella replied lightly snagging a piece of bacon from the pan that Jessi had only just pulled from the oven. Tossing it from hand to hand to cool it she continued. "Dean's up, but I'll get dressed and start looking through the file Jem gave us."
Dean nodded agreeably and snagged his own bacon before disappearing down the hallway. Glancing at Ella, Jessi could see the fear and longing that crossed her cousin's face as she watched until they both heard the bathroom door shut. Without even reaching for her powers Jessi knew the maelstrom of emotion that was churning in Ella's gut.
"It isn't like the other girls Ella, it never has been," Jessi told her, running her hand up Ella's arm and squeezing her comfortingly. "I get it, he doesn't at all seem like the settling down kind and that's terrifying. You're telling yourself not to get too attached even while your heart's so caught up that you know it'll never be the same if it ends, and you know he has the power to break you. I'm not going to lie he has a love 'em and leave 'em rep, but what you see on the surface isn't all there is to Dean."
"I get that Jessi, I do, but I can't hope for too much here."
"You're telling yourself that you can't expect him to stay when everything's over." Jessi cut her off. "You're telling yourself that you can only enjoy what he can give you while he can give it…"
Ella held her eye for a moment as she trailed off before she glanced away, her expression confirming Jessi was right.
"I remember what you don't and what I wasn't there for I've seen in your dreams. He loved you Ella with everything that he had at seventeen," as Ella opened her mouth to argue Jessi held up her hand.
"At seventeen one can love deeply but not fully and sometimes you meet your soul mate that young. Are you soul mates, I don't know, but I do know he left Sammy in the kitchen that day to protect you. His whole life, his one mission was to take care of Sam and the moment he heard the terror in your voice he bolted up those stairs without even a seconds thought. When the dust settled, he split his time between your room and Sam's, torn between his love for both of you and his fear that he'd lose you both."
"That was years ago Jessi and we were young. It's only been a few days I can't realistically expect him to profess his undying love here."
"You and Dean aren't most people," Jessi argued, her voice sharp. Ella's lips thinned in irritation at her refusal to let it go, but Jessi plowed on. "I was there the day you looked at him and you didn't know him."
"I know, I remembered that much."
"Did you see his heart tear in two, did you see the light die out of his eyes, did you see the devastation? He's not exactly the type to admit it, even now, but trust me it wasn't merely a passing teenage infatuation. When I called him, and asked him to come out here, I was fairly certain that he'd turn me down, not that I was going to take no for an answer mind you. I couldn't take you struggling anymore, I could see pieces of you trying to break free of the spell and nothing I'd done had helped. Call me a hopeless romantic, but he came here. Do you understand what that means?"
"You're going to tell me one way or another, whether I want to hear it or not," Ella said wryly shrugging her shoulders as if it didn't matter to her one way or another. Not that Jessi was fooled by her nonchalance.
"You are the only girl that has broken his heart, the only girl I think he has ever really loved. Despite that he came here to help you. He planned on leaving that first night, but he stayed when he realized you were in danger, he's had his heart battered by the memories he's been forced to relive with you. A lesser man would've bailed at the beginning and few would blame him. I just want you to see him Ella, really see him, because he's damn good at making it look shallow beneath that surface, but it isn't."
"I know Jessi," Ella reached out and squeezed Jessi's hand, their gaze met and held for a moment before Jessi turned back to the eggs. "I'm beginning to wonder who's going to be more disappointed if this doesn't work out, Dean and I or you."
"If this doesn't work out I'll be pissed, I'm pretty sure it'll be because both of you are being dumbasses."
"It doesn't take an empath to know that once the heart gets involved, it all comes out in dumbass with more regularity than normal," Ella chuckled picking up her cup, Jessi just snorted in response as Ella headed for her room to get dressed and the folder Jem had given them the night before.