Disclaimer: I don't own Supernatural.
A Quiet Drink Never Hurt Nobody
Apparently she was doing something right, because what started as simple flirting soon became a conversation that never seemed to end. One drink stretched to two, then three. The band continued playing in the background. Rob never moved from his stool.
Baby found herself liking his company immensely. Whenever a topic was exhausted, either Baby or Rob would make a smooth transition into another one. He was bright and engaging, and she found it easy to laugh whenever he made a joke or a clever remark. He seemed to smile just as easily when she tried being clever. Soon Baby was able to tune out most of the background noise and focus exclusively on Rob.
It was during a particularly rowdy rendition of a song called "The Night Pat Murphy Died" that a strange movement drew Baby's attention over Rob's shoulder. At first she thought she'd seen something shimmer, but when she blinked, it wasn't there. Instead she saw a woman being pushed against the back wall by two men built along the same lines as gorillas. The music drowned out any chance of hearing particular words, but she could read the intent in their facial expressions and body language in big block letters.
Rob paused, noticing her attention had wavered. "Something wrong, bright-eyes?"
Baby didn't hear him. Even from across the pub, she recognized the look of a woman in serious danger. She also recognized the stance of a man ready to push until he got what he wanted - or broke someone getting it.
"Would you excuse me a sec?" she said without taking her eyes off the scene. "Be right back." Hopping off her stool, Baby swiftly crossed the pub to approach the trio in the corner. She felt a familiar weight in the small of her back and along her forearm; her favorite knife and .45 were in place and ready to go.
The trapped girl's eyes flashed with desperate supplication when she saw Baby approaching, and this drew the smaller man's attention. "What're you lookin' at, luv?" he drawled, his hand reaching out to grab her jaw roughly.
"Not your butt-ugly mug, that's for sure," Baby remarked. Both men's heads snapped around on their necks to stare at her. She gave an exaggerated wince. "Ooh, those are some unfortunate faces you both got cursed with. No wonder you can't get a woman without being a pair of jackasses."
"Bugger off, lass," said the taller man. His brogue was much heavier than Rob, and there was a roughness in his eyes that said I am a very bad man who gets what he wants, or else. "This ain't your concern."
Her fingers flexed and curled into a fist. "See, that's where you're wrong. She doesn't want to be your playmate, so let her go and maybe I won't make you both butt-ugly and bleeding."
The taller man growled. "Take care of her, Jim," he told his companion with a careless wave to the woman against the wall. "I'll handle this little one."
Baby took stock of him. Over six feet tall and built like a brick wall, with overly muscular arms, barrel chest, barely any neck and close-set eyes. All set to rough her up in a very ungentlemanly way. She almost felt sorry for Jim. He clearly had no idea the mountain of hurt he was about to roll down.
Her first hit was low, a knee to the nether regions that had him doubling over and wheezing in agony. She sidestepped Jim's falling form and advanced on his companion, who was staring at her agape like an idiot. "Better move, hun," she said to the trapped girl, who immediately ducked and covered her head like a good little damsel.
Baby had learned to control her strength very early in her time as a human. In a simple test of her full potential, she'd managed to put a decent dent in a solid steel door with her bare fist. So when her palm slammed against the taller man's ribcage, she reigned in her strength so that the blow was hard enough to drive the air from his lungs and send him back into the wall with a dull thud. He slid down with a groan and crumpled like a puppet with its strings cut.
This unfortunately drew attention to the fight, stopping the song midway through and instantly killing the mood. "Oy, she's beatin' on Jim and Johnny Boy!" someone from within the crowd yelled.
"Git her!" came another man's shout.
Rolling her eyes with a heavy sigh, Baby groaned. "I just want to relax," she whined as she turned and raised her fists. "Have a nice, quiet drink and some nice conversation with a cute guy. Is it too much to ask for?"
Then she was elbow-deep in half-drunken men having a good old-fashioned barroom brawl. The live band cut out almost immediately, being replaced with loud curses, screaming, and the angry yells of people trying to get a punch in sideways. Adrenaline rushed through her veins like high-octane fuel, bringing a reckless smile to her face.
This is what she'd been missing. A little excitement.
Someone grabbed her elbow and roughly pulled her back. She twisted around and delivered a roundhouse kick to the head out of reflex. Her foot was blocked by a forearm, and she was shocked to recognize Rob's flushed, irritated face. "You crazy or something?" he shouted.
"Or something!" Baby replied, lowering her leg. She noticed a man coming up behind Rob and pushed him aside, bringing her leg around to kick the approaching man instead. "What about you? Why're you still here?"
"I'm not leaving you alone in this mess!" he snapped as he tried pulling her away from the fray. When she balked, he lost his patience and yelled, "For the love of God, can't you let me help you?"
She laughed at the idea, throwing a wild punch that clocked a blond-haired man square in the nose. "I've been fighting my own battles since I was strong enough to throw a punch. Never needed help since then."
Rob chuckled. "Baby got bite." His arm released her elbow and tucked back to drive his own elbow into a guy behind him. "Well then, guess I should get in on this action, eh?"
"There's plenty to go around!" Baby remarked. "Have at it!"
"Damn, I really liked that place," she grumbled as she headed down the street from the County Down.
Rob chuckled as he walked beside her. "I think starting a fight and causing that much damage would get you nixed from anyplace, Baby." He had a bruise across his left cheekbone and a bloody lip, but altogether, the pair had managed to walk away from the fight without any serious injuries.
"Sorry to drag you into that mess."
He shrugged. "What sort of son of Ireland would I be to not get in on a good barroom brawl? Besides, I couldn't let a pretty girl go at it alone."
"You tried to bodily haul me out of it."
"I'm a big believer in 'save the women and children first'."
Baby smiled at his teasing. "Refreshing to know that chivalry isn't dead."
"It's evolved with the times, bright-eyes."
Her head cocked slightly. "You called me that earlier too."
He shrugged again. "Your eyes are really bright. Like silver bells on a Christmas wreath."
The unexpected compliment made her cheeks heat up as her lips parted in surprise. Her eyelashes fluttered as she looked down, suddenly shy. "Th-thank you," she stammered.
"No, thank you."
"What for?"
A cool finger slid under her chin and lifted her face back up to look at Rob's boyish grin. "For making this a truly fun night," he said softly. "Never thought I'd meet someone so interesting in the middle of nowhere."
Giggling nervously, Baby tucked a lock of hair behind her ear. "Us interesting people are a rare breed."
"Thankfully I've found quite a fun one." Hazel eyes flicked down to her lips briefly, then back to her silver orbs. Baby drew in a soft breath, thinking he was going to kiss her and not knowing how to react. Should I kiss him back? Pull away? Punch him? Haul ass?
Before she could decide, Rob swooped down and pecked her on the cheek. When he pulled back again, there was a warmer, softer touch to his smile. "So, hate to kiss and run, but I better head back before Shiloh comes after my head."
"Shiloh?" Baby said, still dazed.
"My partner in crime. Red hair, more curves than a winding mountain road, voice like a songbird..."
Baby couldn't help her petulant reply. "Your girlfriend?"
He laughed. "Nah, got too much Irish temper in her. I like a girl with a longer fuse, myself. And who drinks Guinness and throws a good punch," he added with a flirty wink.
A good-natured groan escaped Baby's lips. "You need to work on your lines, Rob Goodwin."
"Perhaps you'd let me practice on you sometime, Paula Campbell." Rob pulled out a pen and took her hand, writing a phone number along the inside of her wrist. When he finished, he offered the pen and his own wrist to her. "Whaddya say?"
She still felt lightheaded when she descended the stairs and entered the Men of Letters' bunker an hour later. A light was on in the library, so she didn't bother stepping softly or sneaking back to her room.
"Hey," Dean said without looking up from his research. "Have a good night out?"
"Well enough," she said as she slipped off her jacket and threw it over a chair. "Just had a quiet drink in town."
His eyes flicked up and latched on to her face. "Yeah? And how'd you get that shiner? Fall down on someone's fist?"
A sheepish grin pulled her split lip too far, and Baby grimaced in pain. Dean chuckled and rose to gather the things needed to patch her up. She sat down and poured a finger of scotch in a clean glass for herself later. "Okay, so there might be this place in town that I've been 86'd from, but I swear, those two other guys started it. They were about to rough up a girl - "
"Tell me you dropped them cold."
"I finished what I started." She smiled smugly. "And they didn't lay a hand on her."
"That's my girl." Dean smiled in satisfaction. He took her hand and turned it over to examine her bruised knuckles. "Those look pretty swollen. Here, hold an ice pack over them."
"Okay."
"Anything else happen?"
"Not really," Baby said as she recalled writing her phone number on Rob's wrist. Her finger tapped the spot on her cheek where Rob's lips had brushed her skin and smiled absently.
Dean caught the expression and hurriedly asked, "What? You take a hit to your jaw?"
She shook her head and winced as the motion made her dizzy. "Just got my bell rung?"
"Don't doubt it."
So sweet, I may have cavities for my dentist appointment tomorrow. And I wrote the dang thing!
Review please!
