Chapter 36

"Now this is my kind of place." Dean sighed sipping on his fourth ale as he looked around the tavern. There were a few elves in the establishment having a meal or just socializing.

"Any place with alcohol is your kind of place." Sam told him with a laugh.

"What can I say, I have good taste." Dean beamed.

"You keep telling yourself that." Sam said in a serious tone as he smiled at Elaria.

They all looked up when an elf came in glanced around and headed their way.

"Miss, the Lady sent me to let you know the young woman is ready." the elf said to Elaria.

"Thank you, we will go join her." she replied giving the elf a coin before he left. "Shall we take our leave?"

"Sure." Sam said standing and helping her pull her chair out.

"I'm ready." Dean said quickly downing the rest of the ale and burping loud.

"Really Dean?" Sam hissed throwing him a bitch face and rolling his eyes. "Sometimes I wonder how we're related."

"What?" Dean asked as he followed them outside.

Elaria glanced between the two brothers and listened to their exchange of words trying not to laugh. It seemed their brotherly bond was strong even if they did seem to argue. She led them back toward the gardens at a leisurely pace pointing out things along the way. As they neared the gardens, Dean hurried ahead to find Lark wanting to see how she was.

"Hey Babe..." Dean said cautiously when he found Lark sitting at a fountain staring at the water.

Lark turned weary, red rimmed eyes toward him when he spoke but didn't have the energy to answer. She was completely drained after what she went through.

"Can you stand?' he asked reaching to take her hands to help her up. He kept a firm grip as she struggled to get up, almost falling if he hadn't supported her. He knew she had been crying, but didn't question it. "Let's get you back to your room." he whispered to her before scooping her up in his arms to carry her.

"Is she alright?" Sam asked when he saw Lark being carried.

"I think she's exhausted and needs to rest."

"I know a short cut back to main house." Elaria offered taking Sam's hand and leading the way.

Dean followed them holding Lark close to his body. She felt cold and unresponsive in his arms and this worried him. "We're almost there Babe..." he mumbled to her.

"I'll go gather up Talon and Ara." Sam said when he saw them still playing in the side yard.

"I'll have one of the elves come out to show you to your room." Elaria told him squeezing his hand before continuing on in a side entrance with Dean and Lark.

spn

"Is there anything you need?" Elaria asked watching Dean lay Lark on her bed and shake out a blanket to cover her body.

"No, we'll be okay. I'll stay with her." Dean replied pulling a chair closer to the bed. "Thanks."

"I hope she will be well enough for the feast my father has planned for tonight."

"I hope so too." he mumbled not taking his eyes off Lark's face. She had not opened her eyes since he picked her up and carried her up here. "Elaria," Dean said before she turned to leave.

"Yes Dean." she asked.

"Be careful, I don't want my little brother hurt." he said looking seriously at her. "I'm not sure how your father would feel if he found out."

"I would never do that to Sam." she replied softly. "I will be sure he doesn't."

They both turned when the sound of running feet echoed down the hall.

"Lark!" Talon called as he ran into the bedroom only to be shushed by Dean and grabbed up by Sam.

"Hush, Lark needs to rest." Sam told him quietly.

Talon stopped squirming in his arms and looked at Lark and then at Dean and back to Sam. "Down." he said softly reaching for the bed.

Sam sat him on the bed and watched Talon crawl to Lark and snuggle to her side and begin to hum to her. Ara flew to the bed and settled on the pillow beside Lark to watch over her.

Sam took Elaria's hand and pulled her out of the room leaving them alone. "Thanks for today." he told her stopping at his bedroom. "I really thinks it's best we don't..."

"It's okay, I understand." she said pressing a finger to his lips. "You can't stay here, it's not your home, but I won't forget the time we've spent together." She reached behind her neck and undid the necklace she was wearing. She took his hand and pressed it into his palm closing his fingers around it. "To remember me by."

"I could never forget you..." Sam whispered. He opened his door and pulled her inside so he could kiss her again. He took in her sweet, flowery scent and the taste of her lips, wanting to remember it and traced her face with his fingers before she stepped away and with one last look over her shoulder disappeared from his room and down the hall. Sam sighed softly before going to lie down on his bed. He couldn't get her image out of his mind, but knew it was not meant to be. She couldn't live in their world no more than he could stay here and live in hers.

spn

Nearly three hours later Lark began to stir bringing Dean out of his doze in the chair by the bed. He moved to sit on the bed and waited for her to wake up before speaking. She stretched and frowned for a moment as Talon shifted and laid his head on her chest looking up at her with curious eyes. She smiled at him and ran her fingers through his soft hair to tame it.

"How you feeling?" Dean asked softly before she realized he was there.

Lark's eyes fell on him and saw the worried look on his face and took his hand in hers before answering. "I will be okay now. I found my answers." she whispered to him.

"So what did this Lady do?" he asked slowly not sure if she wanted to talk about it or not.

Lark sat up and adjusted the pillow so she could lean back letting Talon lay in her lap. She wet her lips and decided how to phrase what she wanted to say.

"She helped me to fill in the missing pieces." Lark said keeping her eyes lowered for fear of what she might see on his face.

"Hey...Hey..." Dean told her tilting her head to look at him. "I'm glad you remember. I know it had to be painful and I wish I had been there for you, but know I'm here for you now. Whatever you need." He rubbed a thumb down her cheek and kissed her forehead not wanting to move too fast. He leaned his head against her head and felt a little tremble run through her body.

"Guess we should get ready for this feast tonight." Lark finally whispered hating to lose his touch but still moved away.

"Alright..." Dean said sitting back and getting up. "C'mon kid, you get to shower with Sammy." he said scooping him up into his arms.

"Bath!" Talon clapped happily. "I be back." he called to Lark and threw her a kiss.

"So Ara, would you like to get cleaned up for tonight?" Lark asked as she sat up in bed.

"Yes please." Ara chirped standing up on the bed and letting her pick her up.

Lark sat her on the counter by the sink and went to get clean clothes for both of them. She was going to gather up their dirty and leave them to be washed since she knew they would be moving on now. It was time to get Talon and Ara home.

spn

Lark was braiding her hair when someone knocked on the door.

"Come in." she called looking that way to see Sam stick his head in and Talon run around him and tried to get on the bed. Lark laughed softly giving him a boost up with one hand.

"Sorry, he couldn't wait to get back." Sam told her smiling her way.

"I love you." Talon whispered into her ear as he hugged her.

"I love you too sweetheart." Lark told him. "Now let me finish my hair and we'll get everyone together."

"I'll go check on Dean." Sam nodded wondering how he beat his brother at getting ready. He walked down to Dean's door and knocked but didn't get an answer. He opened the door slowly before stepping into the room. "Dean?" he asked seeing his brother sitting in a chair looking out the open balcony doors. "Are you okay?" he questioned moving closer.

"She remembers now." Dean said dully. "She knows what..." he trailed off as his voice cracked and he clenched his hands together into fists. He swallowed the lump in his throat and blinked hard to stop the tears from falling. Dean had shed them when he showered but it seemed he had more.

"Oh man, I know that's gotta be rough." Sam said laying a hand on Dean's shoulder and squeezing gently. "Anything I can do?"

"No, I don't know if there's anything even I can do but be there for her."

"We'll both be there for her. Whatever she needs." Sam assured him. "Why don't you go wash your face and let's join Lark and wait for someone to come get us?"

Dean sat there for a few minutes before getting up and walking into the bathroom and closing the door. Sam watched him go and his heart ached for him knowing he felt helpless right now and not sure what to do.

Dean came back out and put on a strong face nodding to Sam and headed for the door with Sam close behind. They went down to Lark's room and found her sitting cross legged on the bed with Talon and Ara in front of her. She was singing softly to them as they listened intently to her. Dean and Sam paused just inside the door and watched her. She had a calm, gentle look on her face that made both of them smile.

"Hi guys." Lark said looking up and seeing them standing there.

"Hi, don't stop you have a great voice." Sam told her.

"I was just keeping them entertained." Lark said giving him a small, shy smile.

"It shouldn't be long before someone comes for us." Sam offered when he saw Dean wasn't going to say anything.

They didn't have to wait long before an elf came and took them down to the banquet. It was set outside and it looked like everyone had turned out for it. They were taken to the head table to sit with Eldrin, Elaria, Mylaela and Thallon. None of them had ever seen so much food spread out on the tables. There were elves running around bringing more platters out and being sure there were drinks on the tables. Everyone ate their fill and then some, stuffing themselves trying to sample all the dishes around them. Dean was very happy when desserts were brought out and he saw pies on some of the trays. The feast lasted into the evening hours until it finally started breaking up. They thanked Eldrin for the wonderful food and being honored before the three hunters and 'kids' called it a night and were taken back to their rooms. They parted company, each going to their own room, all too full to hardly move from all they ate. Talon decided he wanted to stay with Dean this time and skipped into this room.

spn

Sam had just pulled off his clothes and was starting to get into bed when a small tap sounded at his door. He looked around for some sweats since all he had on were briefs and tee shirt. He wasn't sure who it could be but maybe hoped it was Elaria. He opened the door and saw her standing in the hall.

"May I come in?" she asked softly.

"Okay." he said not sure it was wise, but couldn't resist her charm.

"I know you will probably be leaving tomorrow and I wanted to spend a little more time with you." she said looking up into his face. "Will you tell me more about your world?"

"Yes." he said leading her to the bed. They fixed the pillows so they could lean back against the headboard and Sam let Elaria cuddle into his side with her head on his shoulder. "What would you like to know?"

"What are the people like in your world?" she asked tracing her fingers over his chest.

"Wow, let me see...There are so many races that live together where we live. We're a country filled with so much culture and variety. Don't get me wrong, we have bad people there just like you do here. There are communities within cities and its like stepping into their home countries with restaurants, grocers, open markets, its unreal to wander through some of them. We've driven all over the country over the years. I guess we've probably visited every state except Hawaii and Alaska."

"What is a state?" she asked as she listened to Sam talk.

"Our country is called the United States and there are forty-eight different states in the country. Here I'll try to draw you a map." Sam said moving to grab a piece of paper and pen. He started sketching a rough map and tried to show the states so she could see.

"This must be a big place." she said looking down at the paper as he drew.

"It's like over three thousand miles across the country, yeah it's pretty big."

"Where do you live?" she asked.

"Well, we don't really have a home I guess. The closest thing to that is with our adopted father, Bobby. We'll crash at his place whenever we're near. But I guess our real home is in the Impala, Dean's car."

"A car?"

"Yeah, it's a motorized vehicle that we used to get around. Like you use wagons, to travel or horseback, this takes us places quicker."

"Your world seemed complicated and intriguing."

"Yeah I guess you could say that." he said thinking about home.

They talked for several more hours before Elaria said she needed to leave and Sam got up going to the door with her. He cupped her face and leaned down to kiss her knowing this would probably be the last time they could do this. They lingered for a few minutes not wanting to say good-bye, but finally parted. Sam watched her slip away and closed the door behind him. He leaned against it wondering what a life with her might be like, but pushed those thoughts aside because he knew it could never be. With a heavy heart, he walked to the bed and slid between the covers to try and get a few hours of sleep before morning came.

A/N: Thank you for reading my story, I hope you are being entertained. The hunters will be heading out to get the elf and fairy home. Reviews make my day. NC