And, I'm back! Hope you like the chapter!
I love you all, by the way!
-o-
Jenny
She woke up the first day in 2011 from the infernal beeping of the alarm she had set so she could get up early. She was moving into the attic today and aimed for waking up the second day of 2011 in her new room.
Her brain had a moment of can't-even-remember-who-I-am, before reality struck her. She jolted awake and sat up so fast that her head started spinning. Oh God, I am naked! Grabbing the blanket, she pulled it up to cover up, clutching it to her chest.
The reason for the complete lack of clothes was too good to be true, however. Did that actually happen? Oh please let it be true, she thought, not moving an inch, savouring her Schrodinger's Cat-moment. As long as she did not look, she could live in the faith that The King of Hell was right there, in her bed, and her memories were real. Please let them be real, she thought as the memories engulfed her. Images played in her mind, of warm skin and entangled bodies, hands and lips that left her breathless.
After sitting like that, holding on to the memories, and the images in her mind for an unknown amount of time, she took a deep breath and turned around to solve her own version of Schrödinger's paradox.
And, oh-god-in-heaven, there he was. All intense, glittery eyes and a smile with a bit of mischief.
"Good morning, lover."
Yep. She was going to die. He was going to literally kill her with glittery eyes and words that made her heart go off-the-scale crazy in her chest.
His eyes softened as he looked at her, giving her a warm smile. "Breathe, love."
Oh, yeah. That thing again. Was somewhat important, was it not? But then again, The King of Hell was naked. In her bed. Naked. As in without clothes. Air didn't feel very relevant in this moment. Rather very irrelevant, come to think about it.
He was lying on his side with one elbow propped on the mattress so he could lean his head on his hand. He did have a blanket, but it only covered half of him, and there was a whole lot of upper body to admire. Did demons work out? The Naked King of Hell most certainly looked like he did.
Wait. How long had she stared at him? Crowley's expression grew increasingly amused as he watched her in silence, and she realised she probably looked like a deer in headlight. Smooth, Jenny, she thought. Just fucking smooth.
Jenny just closed her eyes and let her body fall back in the bed.
The playful seductive tone in Crowley's voice made Jenny's toes curl. "What's the matter, darling? Demon got your tongue?"
She gave him an annoyed look, resulting in an instant blush and her lungs completely deprived of air. The sight of him, and the fact that he was lying here, naked, in her bed, calling her lover.. Oh, please dear-God-Jesus-Mary-Joseph..
She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. "I'm just..uh..well..yes, good morning."
Crowley chuckled and trailed a finger down her arm, causing a shiver to run through her. "Ah, she speaks. I am glad." He paused for a moment, and she knew she should look at him, or just say something, anything, but she was quite frankly completely overwhelmed, suddenly unable to make sense of..well, anything.
Because it couldn't be real. This could not be real. There had to be something wrong, somewhere, something she had overlooked, because it couldn't be true. She was just..just Jenny.. And he was The King of Hell. A soulless demon. And she was just Jenny. Just Jenny. So why would The King of Hell almost wear his heart on his sleeve for someone like her? He was not supposed to have a heart to wear on his sleeve at all. And the idea of her somehow bringing his humanity back? It sounded more unlikely to her right in this moment than it ever had before.
"Will you not look at me, love?" His voice was so careful that her eyes flashed up to meet his, and the grave expression on his face darkened further when she didn't speak. "Perhaps you want me to leave?"
Oh my god, she thought. I am being an asshole, aren't I? He has no idea what's going on. Alright, time to get a grip. And open her mouth to say something. She rolled over to her side to face him, making sure the blanket covered her properly. The whole being-naked thing made her feel so much more vulnerable. "If I want you to leave? Oh god, no. I'm just..overwhelmed, I think. And I have no idea what's going on, because you didn't actually answer my question yesterday. And then we have the fact that you're a demon, and have no soul or humanity, which makes it, in theory, literally impossible to actually feel something for someone. But then again, I did believe you when you said you were not playing games with me, and that, quite frankly, confuses the fuck out of me. Because if you consider the facts, and put them together, they do not add up. And Crowley, you are The King of Hell; I should think that would entitle me to be a bit confused."
He gave her a small smile. "You are entitled." He paused for a moment. "You are looking for confirmation of some sort." When she nodded, he sighed and rolled over on his back, pillowing his head with his hands. After a long moment where Jenny's heart started to break, he sighed again. "And I have that for you, love." He turned his head to look at her. "I am regaining my ruddy humanity because of you, now aren't I?"
-o-
A little while later, Jenny was lying with her back to Crowley, and he was so close to her that she could feel him breathing on her neck. He was virtually wrapped around her, and she found herself ambivalent to the blanket that still covered half of him. Although, without it, she would probably die from heart failure.
She got goose bumps when he kissed her on the neck. "By the way, that was a quite dramatic way of waking up. What was going through your mind there?"
Jenny laughed with a blush. "I was thinking about Schrödinger's Cat, actually. You being the cat in this particular experiment. As long as I did not turn around, I could believe you to actually be there."
He gave her a slightly confused look. "And why would you think anything else?"
She smiled sheepishly. "I dream rather vividly. I could not completely rule out the possibility that I had, in fact, dreamt the whole thing. Seems I did not, since the cat is still here, quite alive and well."
A surprised laugh escaped him, and she glanced at him in time to see him roll his eyes. "I am an enthralling paradox, I know. But at least have the decency to let me be a lion. Cat, really?" He lifted himself up on his elbow and raised an eyebrow at her. "Honestly though, love. You go from sleeping soundly to sitting in bed, thinking about bloody Schrödinger's Cat within ten seconds?
She giggled and turned to her side to face him, deciding it was time to practice the whole breathing-thing while looking at the naked demon. Lord, give me strength, she thought as she tried to focus on his face. "Schrödinger's lion, then." She giggled. "The Lion King. Or perhaps The Lion King of Hell? Nice. But, yes. My brain just works like that. It never really shuts off, not even when I sleep." Rolling her eyes, she continued. "And it tends to multitask quite a lot, running double, or triple thought-processes simultaneously. All the time."
Crowley shook his head at her. "Sounds quite chaotic, love." Smiling, he raised an eyebrow. "And interesting, quite frankly."
Rolling her eyes at him, she smiled. "Oh, you have no idea. I should have changed name to Chaos long ago. Chaos Thalassian. Has a nice ring to it, yes? Although, I am not so chaotic anymore." She trailed off when Crowley's expression changed. "What? Why the sudden frown?"
After a long moment where he obviously tried to search his brain for whatever it was, but in the end he just sighed. "I just..when you said chaos and Thalassian together.. It felt familiar, like I have that from somewhere. But I cannot remember where." He shook his head. "Nothing to do about it now. I will go to my library later to see if I can find anything that prods my memory."
He reached for her and pulling her to him as he rolled over to lie on his back, and she followed, snuggling into the crook of his arm and putting her hand on his chest. The room went silent for a moment before Crowley spoke again. "How does one de-chaos, then?"
She moved her head so she could meet his eyes. "You know the quote 'I stopped fighting my inner demons, we're on the same side now.'" He nodded, and she raised an eyebrow at him. "Well, that more or less happened. No actual demons, luckily. Just the chaos of my own mind.
Jenny shrugged before continuing. "I have always tried to fit in with the rest of the sheeple because it's suitable, you know? The suitable pattern for a suitable life."
Turning on her back, she lifted her hands in the air over them, counting on her fingers as she spoke. "Go to work, come home, cook dinner for the two-point-tree children. The hot topic at the dinner table is the Johnsons down the street, because they are painting the house purple, and should be ashamed of themselves. Then it is time for chores, maybe doing some light work in the flower beds, before getting the two-point-three children to bed. Perhaps watch a bit of TV, and chat about how nicely the rose bushes are coming out this year before getting ready to go to bed before eleven."
Making sure the blanket was wrapped around her, she sat up and looked at Crowley in disbelief. "I mean, come on! How is that a life? How can anyone live like that? It's not living, it's just..existing. There is no.. passion! How can people function without something to burn for? I know the way I function is a bit extreme, considering that when I feel passionate about something, it tends to engulf me in a very all-consuming way, and that does not work for everyone. But, oh god, I wouldn't know what to do without it. Apathy is my worst nightmare, honestly."
She rolled her eyes with a giggle. "I did try, though. My house was suitable free of dragon-statuettes or skull-curtains, I stopped wearing t-shirts with prints, or my belts and bracelets with spikes. Playing computer games was my shameful secret, because the stigmata surrounding it make people look at you like you're a lesser being and a waste of space. Very encouraging."
She raised an eyebrow at Crowley. "I even had a dreadfully boring fiancé, whom worked with computer programming, like his dad did. We were planning to get married when he finished his master's degree, although he already worked as a researcher and developer for one of the biggest telephone-company in Norway. We were going to buy a house, have one boy and one girl, and I would have a tulip-flower-bed in the garden." Giving Crowley a disbelieving look, she threw her hands up in the air. "A fucking tulip-flower-bed, Crowley!" Her hands slumped down in her lap as she shook her head. "Biggest castle of air ever built."
Jenny realised she was way off track from where she started, and blushed as she looked at Crowley. "It was not my intention to hold a lengthy monologue. Sorry. Stop me next time, will you?"
The King of Hell chuckled as he tugged her arm and she gave a yelp as she toppled over. He deftly caught her, and in the next moment she was lying in the crook of his arm.
She felt him place a kiss on her head. "Don't apologise, love. Your enthusiasm is contagious. And I find myself entertained by the level of gesticulating. Now, finish your story."
She giggled. "Yes, sir. Well, I built on that castle of air for years. So when it came crashing down I pretty much crashed as well; too tired to keep the constant battle inside my mind going. So I just let go, stopped fighting it, and it was the best decision I ever made. Not at the time, though. At the time, my head was so chaotic that a task such as placing a dinner plate in the dishwasher was an ordeal. Not anymore, though. I'm in control now, of every thought-process going on at all times. Usually I just focus on what I am doing or whomever I am talking to, and turn down the volume on the rest. Works great."
Crowley trailed a finger down her arm, making her shiver. "So, love, in that brilliant head of yours, how much have been going on for the last five minutes?"
She thought for a moment. "Last five minutes, let's see.. Well, I thought about how man discovered fire, and that there had to be a lot of hesitation in the beginning about the whole thing. And finding out that they could cook their food? Had to be either an accident with someone dropping a piece of meat in there, and then deciding to eat it anyway or someone being bored enough to just test what happens. Can't really picture anyone go; 'Guys, now that we have fire, and we know the level of destruction it can cause, I think the most logical thing to do is to start burning our food.'"
Jenny snorted a laugh. "I thought about learning to play the flute or taking up violin again, but flute is annoying, and violin is one of the hardest instruments to learn, so I decided on piano, because I already know how to play a little bit. Next I thought that a piano is expensive, and should really not be a priority before I stop leeching from others. So I contemplated how to acquire said money, and realise I know who wins the Super Bowl this year."
Crowley raised an eyebrow at her, and she giggled. "I need it more than them. They'll live; I'm sure." Jenny pointed towards the ceiling. "Other than that, I have of course been planning the process of moving to the attic and how to furnish and decorate. But, it will take forever to tell you everything I have been thinking about, so I'll give you some of the subjects that have popped up. Cross-stitching, Graham Bell, bonsai trees, Audrey Hepburn, chameleons, Sheriff Jody Mills-"
Crowley let out a disbelieving laugh. "Why on earth Sheriff Jody Mills?"
Jenny rolled her eyes. "Of all the subjects I mentioned, Sheriff Jody Mills would be the most logical one, honestly."
"Of all the subjects you mentioned, Sheriff Jody Mills was the one that stuck out. Why did you think about her?"
Jenny shrugged. "I just like her, really. I hope she comes around here more often." Lifting her head, she gave Crowley a sharp look. "I was a bit upset with you in season eight when you almost killed her."
Crowley smirked. "I am sure it was perfectly reasonable. Was it? Why did I need to off her?"
Jenny shook her head. "Sorry, not telling you. But that's because we have changed everything, so the reason for you to go after her is void. It won't happen. I have no idea what is going to happen." She stopped to think about it. It was true, wasn't it? Everything had changed, and that.. That meant they were all going in blind from now on. Jenny found the thought a bit terrifying.
-o-
Who knew one could use that much energy on such a basic thing as keeping eye-contact? Jenny was not used to this at all. She was more about faces, hair, smiles, eyes, and things like that. Yes, a nice body attracted her. But she didn't like too much muscle, and actually preferred an untrained body over a rippling-six pack one.
So Crowley was perfect. He looked like Mark Sheppard did these days, with all the cardio going on. Even the tattoos were there. That was a bit confusing, though, because they had nothing to do with Crowley, when she thought about it. Oh well, she thought. I have The Naked King of Hell in my bed, and what I find confusing is his tattoos?
Oh, well. She had to start getting up. Moving to the attic was, after all, quite exciting, wasn't it?
-o-
Nikki
"Hi Castiel! I didn't know that you were here." Nikki walked into the library where they were all sitting, making plans about how to get the Archangel Blade.
"Hello. I have come to let you know that Thomas Miller has returned from Colorado. And that he is aware of what you want. I tried to listen in on his thoughts, but he seems to have blocked the house with a spell of some sort. I cannot figure it out." Castiel stood in the middle of the room, looking worried.
"So, what Cas is trying to say, is that me and Sammy are on our own. And that means that we need to hack onto his security system. We need to get in and out, fast. But Sam can't come with me, and at the same time try to overrule the system." Dean was frustrated, and Nikki could see why. They needed that blade.
Jenny cleared her throat, and everybody looked at her. "I can do it."
Sam gave Jenny a disbelieving look. "Seriously ?"
Jenny blushed. "Uh, well..yes. It's not exactly hacking into the mainframe of NASA, now is it?" When everyone just stared, Jenny's blush increased quite visibly and she rolled her eyes at them. "Look, he probably has a high-tech, expensive system, right? And it's probably not older than ten years? Because if so, I can definitely do it. It would have been worse if it had been all Battlestar-Galactica-and-taut-wire-fence-systems."
Dean gave Jenny a blank look. "Eh, what?"
Sam rolled his eyes. "Battlestar Galactica, Dean. You have seen it." When Dean's expression remained blank, Sam sighed. "They only use analogue devices. And taut wire is really old technology as well."
Jenny nodded. "Indeed. Has to be physically shut down. But if Mr Miller's security system is installed within this millennium, it will have a proper PCU, you know, the control-panel hanging on the wall? It's basically a computer, ergo, very hack-able."
"Well, then it's settled. How fast can you get whatever technology you need to do this, Jenny?" Bobby asked.
Jenny looked thoughtful for a moment. "I need about two days perhaps. And I need to buy equipment for it first."
"You boys drive to that house as soon as Jenny is ready. Then you go in and get the blade and get the hell out of there before something more happens. I don't like this Thomas Miller-guy. He's not a people person, not when I spoke on the phone with him anyway," Bobby grumbled. Bobby had tried to call the man to ask if he was interested in selling the blade, but Bobby had ended up shouting and ended the call abruptly. It had not gone well, that was certain.
"I have one more thing on the agenda, something Crowley told me. It has nothing to do with the Archangel Blade, though." Jenny's voice was quite serious when she spoke, so everyone turned to her and waited for what she said next. Folding her hands on the table, Jenny sighed. "First, you need to promise me that this does not go any further than this room. Do not mention it to him or anyone else. I don't think he would be pleased, and that would muck it up."
Everyone nodded and Jenny seemed satisfied with their response, so she continued. "Alright. Crowley is regaining his humanity. Or so he said. To be more specific, he is regaining his 'ruddy' humanity."
Dean stared wide-eyed at Jenny. "Seriously? Do you believe him? And why is he suddenly regaining his humanity out of the blue?"
Jenny blushed scarlet and dropped her gaze to the table. "I believe him. And even if I didn't, it can be proven. With a spell, you can somehow measure humanity." She looked up at them. "But that will not happen. Not now. He is struggling with it, and I am quite sure that he would not appreciate you all knowing it. But I am telling you anyway, because I think it will be easier for us all. In time, he will probably agree to tell you, and then you can demand proof. Until then, be nice."
Sam gave Jenny a bemused look. "And why is this happening?"
Jenny went back to being scarlet, and did not look at them when she spoke. "Well, it's because..uh.. Oh, whatever, I'll just quote the man. 'I am regaining my ruddy humanity because of you, now aren't I?' So, uh, yeah. It's because of me. And now, I would appreciate it if we just went back to the subject of Thomas Miller and the Archangel Blade."
-o-
They ended up talking about what would happen in the next couple of days, trying to come up on the best way to do it. Dean started to mock Sam about lacking on the geek-side and got a ball of paper thrown at his head. "Bitch," Dean said. That was quickly returned with "Jerk," as Sam went to the kitchen.
"How are you, sweetie? You're not thinking about what we talked about the other day, are you?" Nikki asked as she went over to Castiel.
He tilted his head and gave her a small smile. "No, I have come to terms with that it will never happen. And that I should not dwell on something that is not in the plan."
"Wait, she calls you 'sweetie'? And you're okay with that? What happened to the 'my name is Castiel'-speech you gave me?" Dean asked.
"It's an endearment, I have learned that humans can call their friends that," Castiel said proudly.
Nikki laughed and looked at Castiel. "That is correct, sweetie," she said, smirking at Dean.
He just looked at the angel and the smirking girl standing side by side and shook his head, looking fed up. "Yeah, whatever floats your boat!"
Castiel looked a bit worried but Nikki smiled at him. "Don't worry about him; he's just being moody, as always. You know Dean, just the normal bitching when he doesn't understand something."
Castiel relaxed a bit but then they heard Dean mumbling:" I heard that, angel-light."
Nikki turned to Dean with a frown:" angel light?"
He grinned at her and said:" with your mini-grace your just angel light. Like soda, without sugar." Dean looked pleased with himself.
"Wow, what a comeback, Dean. Real smooth," she laughed.
-o-
Castiel
Castiel looked a bit upset, thinking that with even a small amount of grace, Nikki was more like an angel than any human being ever could be and could not understand why Dean called her angel light. Later Nikki explained it to him, and he understood what they had meant, and also understood that he needed to know more about human interactions. This was so frustrating!
