A/N:
Wow, what an adventure! Thanks so much for coming along with us!
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Bowman was jolted out of his reverie when the shoulder under him bobbed up and down once. He gripped Jacob's hood in surprise and turned a glare, only to find the human smirking at him in profile. "Go on, dude, we all know you want to. Find a leaf for these guys to play with or something."
Bowman raised an eyebrow, but didn't gripe. Last time he'd come back to the forest in the Impala, he'd all but stormed out the door to fly among the canopy again (much to Dean's annoyance). This time, he'd held back for the nestlings. One glance at them found Rischa waving him off with a knowing grin, and he had his answer. He was off like a shot.
While Bowman frolicked in the air to celebrate their return, Jacob glanced to the side towards Dean and Sam. "Ready for a hike?"
Dean took a deep breath of the forest air. "I think I can manage," he said, his mood undeniably chipper after the coffee combined with the supposed-angel's healing touch. Now that the pain in his ribs was gone, he could move quicker and give Jacob a run for his money on the hike.
Sam and Vel were equally ready. "Mush!" Sam called from Dean's shoulder, gamely pointing the direction he wanted Dean to go in.
Vel had no idea what Sam was referencing, but he had no problem mimicking him. He pointed in the same direction with one little hand. "Yeah! Moosh!"
There was some confusion on Jacob's hand, so he sent them a brief smile. "That just means 'go.' So I guess we better."
He'd hardly taken a step before Bowman drifted back down to eye level for the two humans. He zig-zagged in the air, back to his normal overconfident self now that he could fly among his trees again. Hovering several feet ahead, he waved. "Remember the way, giants?" he called, gladder than he thought he'd be to include Dean in that category.
Dean arched his eyebrows up at Bowman. "Oh, I thought that's what we had our native guide for," he sassed the sprite right back, not missing a beat between statements. He was feeling much more himself this day, that was for sure. For the first time in a week.
Bowman rolled his eyes. If Dean didn't have Vel hitching a ride on his shoulder, Bowman would be tempted to toss an acorn at him for his sass. As it was, he darted upwards among the leaves. "You're blasted right, and that means I'm in charge on this trip, right?"
Vel giggled at Bowman's casually-dropped swear. "No, I'm in charge!" he called back, laughing at the very idea.
"You sprites will have to help us keep an eye on Bowman," Jacob chimed in. "Make sure he doesn't lead us into trouble. At least we know Sam can spot him pretty good out here, too." He shot Sam a smirk. He had heard all about how the sprite-sized Winchester brother had pointed out Bowman's spot on a branch a year back when Dean first found his way to Wellwood.
Bowman landed on a branch a few feet ahead. "Don't go giving anyone any ideas!"
Dean planted his feet on the ground to give Bowman a look. "Is that a challenge?" he called out, a grin on his face at the memories from a year back. Catching Bowman off-guard back then had certainly been one of the highlights of their hunt.
Bowman flared his wings in the biggest threat display he could manage. "Don't even think about it. I'm keeping my eye on you this time, giant. You're both trouble."
Jacob continued towards the branch, even reaching out his free hand as if he might shake Bowman's perch. There were poorly-stifled giggles on his other hand as the nestlings watched the bickering back and forth. "I guess if you're expecting trouble, I won't disappoint."
Bowman fluttered off the branch before Jacob could reach it, and sent both humans a mock glare. "Just follow me, featherheads."
As they got underway again, Vel tilted his head back against Sam's chest so he could give him an upside-down grin. "Are you gonna come to my house again? I'm real excited to get back. I miss my blankets and my friends and my mama."
"You'll see your mama first thing," Sam soothed Vel with a small smile, brushing his fingers through the kid's short, light brown hair. "Dean promised he'd bring you back to her himself."
"And that's our first stop when we get there," Dean put in, cutting his eyes to the side to try and catch a glimpse of the tiny pair hitching a ride with him. "Jacob can get the others home with Bowman's help."
With a plan set and Bowman leading the way, the path deeper into the forest beckoned them on. Jacob had the way memorized, but he let Bowman take point so the younger sprites could track the patrolsprite from his hand. Their fidgeting and excitement grew as the sunbeams breaking through the canopy brightened.
Passing the fence really caused some excitement. Most of the kids besides Rischa and the little wraith had never been this far from the village before, but they knew it meant they were close again.
Almost home. Even the trees on the other side seemed to lean in close to welcome them all back.
Not long after that, other patrolsprites could be seen among the canopy. They noticed Jacob and Dean right away, and when their tiny passengers waved excitedly, they grinned and waved back before darting ahead. The whole village would know before they arrived that the nestlings were coming home.
Jacob sighed with relief when he heard the stream ahead at last. Bowman fluttered back to his shoulder and peered down at the hand braced against his chest. "Alright, nestlings, ready to go home?"
While a chorus of "Yes!" shrieked out from the small group, Jacob glanced to the side where Dean and Sam kept watch over Vel. "You remember which tree he goes to?"
Dean nodded, reaching up to his shoulder to scoop Sam and Vel up so they could get Vel to his home as soon as possible. "Couldn't forget it."
When he felt their tiny bodies in his hand, willingly letting him pick them up, Dean was struck by how much trust they'd given him. Just yesterday he'd been in their position and looked up at humans from the same perspective, and he had a hard time imagining just giving so much trust so easily, yet here they were. The most Sam did was make sure he was holding onto Vel as Dean picked them up, making sure the tiny, fluttering wings didn't get bumped around.
Holding out his hand next to Vel's home tree, Dean called out "Nia? Karlis? We have someone who's been waiting to see you."
There was a startled voice inside the small dwelling, one that had grown right out of the tree itself. The unmistakable sound of small but frantic footsteps echoed out in contrast to the calm forest sounds around them. Then, a little door burst open.
Nia didn't look much better than she had before, with her wings dark and sagging and her eyes sunken and bloodshot with worry. However, her eyes quickly alighted on the child waiting on Dean's hand and her face twisted with relief and pain. A noise between a laugh and a sob choked out of her as she covered her face with her hands, and then looked again.
Vel had already squirmed out of Sam's lap and was trying to balance carefully on Dean's palm. He didn't make it far before Nia rushed forward. She almost tripped on Dean's fingertips to get to her only child, finally home again. She sank to her knees and wrapped him in her arms, holding him close with no mind for where she was.
"Mama, I'm home," Vel announced, though his voice was muffled in her embrace. She nodded and kissed the side of his head.
Karlis wasn't far behind, though for a moment he stayed off of Dean's hand to take in the sight of his mate and child back together. "Spirit's dance, you found them," he breathed, noticing Jacob at one of the other trees already to help one of the other children get home. Karlis put his hand over his mouth and his own tears blurred his vision. Vel's wings were in sorry shape, but the boy was home. He could heal.
He was hesitant, but he sidled up to Dean's hand. Nia had already all but dove onto it, so there wasn't much left he could do to give the human some space if he wanted it. "Looks like the family is all together," he said, offering Sam a smile, and then tilting his head back to give Dean a nod. "I don't think I can ever-" his voice cut off as a lump formed in his throat. He took a breath. "I can't thank you enough."
He finally stepped onto Dean's fingers as well, balancing oddly on them until he could kneel next to the other sprites already there. He ruffled Vel's light brown hair and wrapped one wing partially around the both of them. The other flared partway open as he glanced to Sam and Dean again. "Dean is a bit large for my wings to cover, but you're both part of this, too."
"Don't worry, I think I've gotcha covered there," Dean said thickly, his voice choked up with emotion.
He might have lost some of his family that week, but he and Sam had reunited another family torn apart. Without their help, Vel and the other children might never have returned home. The scientist might have never gotten what he wanted from the Spirit, but he was willing to destroy lives and ruin a village for his ambitions, and they had put a stop to it.
Dean hadn't been prepared for everyone to pile onto his hand, but he supposed it was only natural for them to want to be as close to their child as possible, no time wasted. From the look of her, Nia still barely registered that she was on a comparably-giant hand. Dean kept this in mind as he lifted them up, keeping his hand balanced and his movement smooth. Sam let Karlis embrace him with a wing, and then they were all pressed lightly against Dean's chest. He couldn't quite hug them the way they were used to, but it was the only way he had available to him to reciprocate, used very rarely when he needed to feel that Sam was okay for himself.
At other home trees in the village, similar reunions were happening one by one, but none of the young returned sprites were quite as secure as Vel. Wrapped up in his parents' embrace, along with Sam, and all of them held in Dean's protective hand, the nestling could barely see anything but his family around him. The one he was born into and the one he'd picked out for himself were all there, and his happy, relieved tears finally overflowed.
His wings could barely twitch in that snug space, but he managed to tilt his head back so he could touch his mama's cheek with a hand. He squirmed around so he could reach his father and do the same to him, gently touching their faces to confirm that he really was back.
"Sam an' Dean came an' got me," he announced through a choked up voice full of more emotion than most children knew what to do with. "I knew they were gonna come find us."
"We'd never leave ya behind," Sam swore, just as snug in a hug as the rest of them.
Sam knew Dean needed this as much as the rest of them, so he didn't complain about the hand holding them pressed against the broad chest. This was the first time since their father had died that Dean had allowed himself this kind of comfort, and he didn't want to risk cutting that short. So he simply closed his eyes, giving Vel another small hug once the kid was done reassuring himself that his parents were there. They all needed it.
Jacob moved carefully through the village as he took the other nestlings to their home trees, even though Wellwood was still quiet with two giants in the middle of it. As more and more cries of joy echoed from each porch with a returned child, more and more sprites wandered out to see, and their excited whispers were like a breeze had picked up in the village. Wings rustled with the sound of leaves by the time he knelt near one of the last homes.
The young wraith sprite was eager to hop down from Jacob's huge hand and into his parents' arms. Their own quillwings rattled as well, more like the pine needles of the very tree they now lived in. Jacob received shy nods of thanks and backed off to give them space.
Rischa and Bowman were the last sprites with him.
"Ready to go home?" he murmured to the girl situated near his chest. She had always been small in his hands, but after her exhausting ordeal caring for everyone, she seemed like a figurine of glass.
She tilted her head back to face him with a tired grin. "Yes. Everyone is so happy now!"
Jacob felt his own relief ready to bubble over, and could hardly imagine how the sprites felt. Several of them hadn't known if they'd ever see their children again.
Stepping up to Bowman's home tree, he found Candara and Larxe already waiting for them. He bridged his fingers to the porch and Rischa bounded over them to join her family again. Seconds later, there was a flutter right next to Jacob's ear as Bowman hopped down from his shoulder.
Much like Vel was cocooned in a protective hug only feet away with Dean, Rischa soon found herself wrapped up in an embrace so much that Jacob could hardly see her. He heard her muffled laugh and a grin came to his face.
He gently brushed a thumb over one of Bowman's wings where he stood back watching. "Whatcha think?"
Bowman looked up, and for once his face didn't have a trace of his usual snarky expression. "I guess I'll have to ink you humans into the archives again. Maybe Sam can make you a picture if you want to see, since you and Dean are a bit giant for it."
Dean reluctantly pulled his hand away from his chest to give the sprites and his brother some air, and held them up next to the porch for the home Karlis, Nia and Vel shared.
Sam gave the sprites some space, glancing over at Bowman. "If there's time, could I see the archives?" He looked to Dean for confirmation and got a nod.
"There's no hurry," Dean assured them. Angels, demons, and whatever the hell else was out there could wait. Castiel, Celeste and all. "I could use some lessons in camping, right?"
Sam's eyebrows went up at the grudging admittance. "Right," he said with a slowly growing smile. "Jacob could give you some lessons on why you should bring more than M&Ms for rations."
"I think Vel agrees with me on the M&Ms," Dean protested.
Vel was in Karlis' arms now, but he lifted his head from his shoulder. "Yeah! M an' nems are good!" he chimed in.
Karlis grinned. "You can have as much as you want, but first you and mama need some sun."
Overhearing Karlis's comment, Jacob shrugged faintly as the small family of sprites fell into a discussion of where they'd go for their much needed sunlight. "Hey, it's not bad to have some snacks around. Just gotta be ready to find more stuff out here." Something told him Dean wouldn't be a fan of mushrooms or the bitter wild berry options this deep in the woods.
"You can show him what not to forage," Bowman said with a smirk. "There's no … what was it … pizza to find out here."
Dean snorted. "Wanna bet?" he asked, of half a mind to order a pizza to come to the edge of the forest and bring it to the village just to prove Bowman wrong.
Sam punched his hand. "Don't you think you're better off actually learning how to camp for once?" he scolded. "Might come in useful, being able to survive away from fast food."
Dean's smirk only grew at Sam's reaction. Things were getting back to normal for them. "Maybe." He glanced at Jacob, then back to Sam. "Anyway, I think we've earned a week or two off." He nudged Sam off his hand playfully. "Plenty of time for you to check out the village."
Bowman's wings opened and he prepared to flutter to the other porch to be Sam's guide in the village. Before he did, he pointed a wing at both Jacob and Dean. "Don't you go practicing making fires too close to the village," he warned.
Jacob raised his eyebrows. "Wouldn't dream of it."
Satisfied with the answer, Bowman finally joined Sam with a fluttering hop. He indicated the spiral staircase leading down from where Vel's home was nestled on the branch and grinned. "Ready?"
Sam grinned back. "More than you know," he swore, warming up to the idea of exploring a village all his own size. Even in the motel and the burrow, it wasn't built specifically for his size, only borrowed or repurposed.
He looked back at Dean once, and Dean waved him on. "Take your time."
The sun broke through the leaves of the Wellwood canopy for the children to soak up with their wings, and a breeze rustled through the trees.
"We've got all the time in the world."
FIN
A/N:
The families are reunited at last, and another job well done for the Winchesters and their friends!
Sam's gonna spend some time in Wellwood, learning about the sprites and their way of life, and Dean's going to have some necessary lessons in camping! Maybe the next time they're out in the forest (hint, hint), he'll actually be able to survive without take-out.
Season three of Brothers Apart has begun, and the Winchesters are starting to come to terms with their loss and learning about their true enemy. What more does the future hold for them? Squeaklock Holmes will continue the series at a later date, and it will be followed up by another collaborative work with PL1 . Thank you all for coming along with us! Be sure to vote in the poll, and take a peek at Aftermath: A Series of Consulted Shorts this week when we post the next section!
Cowritten by PL1, the creator of the Wellwood sprites and Jacob Andris!
Beta read by creatorofuniverses on tumblr.
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Next: Squeaklock Holmes, posting in the future.
