While Jacob attempted to get in touch with Bobby, Bowman noticed an unfamiliar but pleasant smell filling the room. He grumbled before pushing himself up on his hands and blinking owlishly at his surroundings.

Corners, angles, were everywhere. His bright green eyes widened, and in his startled confusion at how completely foreign everything was, he scrambled backwards. It didn't change a thing and he took a few breaths while everything came back to him.

He pursed his lips and lifted up the edge of his shirt just enough to see the bruising forming on his side. He knew his legs would look even worse. Bowman sighed and dragged both hands down his face in an attempt to wake himself up faster.

He looked around before getting his bearings enough to stand. Even then, it was a task because of the plush surface beneath him. He was on the biggest bed he'd ever seen. It felt almost excessive, but a glance at Jacob over near the door did give him pause.

Humans are blasted big, his brain reminded him. Too big.

Jacob had his phone next to his ear. Sam and mostly Jacob had explained the device to him before, so Bowman watched him curiously. He wanted to see it in action, enabling Jacob to talk to someone far away. Seeing human things might never stop fascinating him.

Instead, Jacob pulled the thing away from his ear and frowned at it. "Not answering," he mumbled.

"What's not answering? Is your phone thing broken?" Bowman asked, opening his wings to shake them out before hopping into the air. He drifted closer to Jacob curiously, and the human's brown eyes zeroed in on him easily. There was no camouflage for Bowman here.

"I was trying to call my friend who originally had the demon," Jacob replied. "He's not answering his phone. I tried a couple times."

After what must have been the shortest shower known to man, the water turned off in the bathroom with a resounding squeak. The coffee pot had just finished filling as Dean came back out of the bathroom, wearing a simple black t-shirt and jeans in place of his former layers. The sling hung easier from his shoulder after cleaning up and some of the swagger was back as he strolled over to the kitchenette.

"Any luck?" Dean inquired as he grabbed the cups to pour out a drink for him and Jacob. He frowned at the realization that they had nothing for Bowman to use. Any cup in the room was big enough for the sprite to sit inside of.

Bowman turned towards Dean while pointing at the phone in Jacob's hand. "His phone's not answering," he replied.

"Bobby's not answering his phone," Jacob corrected mildly, smirking when Bowman waved off his words. "I called a few times, got nothing. It'd be worth going to check on him."

Bowman, having missed the earlier conversation about Bobby, also missed the tension in Jacob's demeanor over the missing friend. He nodded in agreement before drifting towards the kitchenette to see what Dean was working on.

"Is that stuff what the smell is coming from?" he asked curiously.

Dean nodded as he sat down at the table. "It's coffee, and it's good," he supplied helpfully. It was apparent how eager Bowman was to learn no matter where they went. He had a constant stream of questions about the world around him and Dean had a feeling Sam had been fielding questions like that his entire life since the curse.

It wasn't hard to find a plastic spoon with the few supplies they had in the kitchenette. "This might not be the best way to drink but I don't have much else to work with for ya," Dean admitted as he filled up the spoon and placed it near the sprite. He glanced over at Jacob. "Until we know for sure that Bobby's not still a danger, we need to focus on him, and save helping the knights search for Sam and Scar for after. Once everyone's ready, we head to Bobby's. I'm guessin' you know the way to his house?"

Jacob bobbed his head in confirmation while Bowman landed near the spoon to investigate the coffee. "Yup, same small town as me, I go over there all the time," he said, grabbing his own cup of coffee. He added a packet of sugar to it to weaken the bracing bitterness of the dark drink.

Bowman, by contrast, didn't think to add anything to it. He crouched in front of the huge spoon, a spoon nearly big enough to be a seat for him, to observe the liquid pooled in it. The aroma and the heat wafting off of it invited him in.

He pulled back his sleeves slightly to make sure they wouldn't get any coffee on them, and then cupped his hands into the warm drink. It nearly scalded his fingertips, but he weathered the heat and lifted the liquid to his lips to try it. Bowman's wings twitched with curiosity, and then appreciation for the taste.

"That stuff is pretty good," he determined, brushing his hands off the best he could over the spoon. Jacob, standing near the table, pushed a napkin towards Bowman while also sipping at his own brew, and Bowman had his hands cleaned in no time. "Reminds me of pine tea."

"I don't think I could live without it," Dean said as he drank his own, leaving it as black as Bowman's was. It was the only way to drink coffee, as far as he was concerned. It helped to restore his energy along with the refreshing dunk in the shower and an actual night of rest, even if it had been drugged. They would need to be at the top of their game with Sam missing and Bobby acting strange. There wasn't time to waste.

On that note, Dean did his best to ignore the scalding temperature as he drank down the rest of his coffee. Sam needed them and the only barrier in their way to going to search for him was making sure Bobby was okay and the demon hadn't left any other surprises for them during its possession of the teen.

"Almost ready to blow this joint?" he asked, glancing around to see what they might have in the room. He didn't remember a lot of the night before after they'd arrived at the hospital, including what he might have done in the room before conking out.

Jacob could see Bowman narrowing his little eyes at Dean, trying to figure out the meaning of the phrase he'd used. He smirked and took another quick drink of the hot coffee before setting aside his cup. "Yeah, I'd say so. The sooner we get this figured out, the better."

Bowman turned to look up at Jacob and frowned faintly. He still didn't get what "blow this joint" had to do with getting their journey underway, but then again sprites had phrases like that, too. He chose not to ask, not wanting to look ignorant when he was already surrounded by the unfamiliar.

"Let's get going," he agreed, his wings fluttering as he took to the air and drifted upwards in a slow spiral.

Jacob smirked. "Now that you're finally awake, you mean?"

"Shut it, you," Bowman shot back, crossing his arms while he hovered at eye level to the humans. "I'm plenty awake, thank you very much."

"Especially once that coffee takes effect," Dean pointed out with a grin. "That's what it's made for. Waking you up." He stood and stretched his arm, and discovered he could move his hand on the broken arm. That was promising, and gave him a slight bounce in his step as he went to gather his stuff.

The dirty clothes got packed into the duffel bag and Dean stuck his Colt handgun in the back of his pants. There was no way of knowing if he'd need it at any time so he strove to keep it on hand.

Dean slung his jacket over his shoulder. "Since we're all awake now, it's time to get to the bottom of what Bobby's up to and then go find Sam." The second he knew what was up with Bobby and could finally end the case, he would only be focused on getting Sam back.

He had to trust that in the meantime, the other sprites would do their best. Sam was one of theirs, in a way.

Jacob nodded. He wanted to check on Bobby, and there was always a chance that he had seen what happened to Sam. He might have been conscious while the demon taunted Jacob, watching it slam him into the tree. Jacob knew from his own time as a prisoner in his head that it could be a scary thing to witness.

"Stick close, Bowman," Jacob advised as he picked up the duffel bag for Dean. "There's not as much green around to hide in."

"Unfortunately," Bowman groused, glancing at the bright light leaking around the curtains on the window. His vibrant green wings would practically glow with that much unhindered sunlight on them. Even a shoulder ran some risks of being seen.

Luckily, there was another option. The cloth sling that the clinic had given Dean left plenty of space for an added passenger, and Bowman drifted downwards from eye level to observe the arm. Pointing at it, he looked up at Dean. "If I land to hide on your arm, will it hurt?"

"Hm?" Confused, Dean glanced between Bowman and the place he was pointing at. It took a moment for him to figure out that Bowman actually wanted to hide in his sling. He still hadn't quite caught up to the entire size-thing with Sam and Bowman and it was undeniably odd to consider himself as having hiding places like that on him.

It didn't look like it would be a problem, considering how small Bowman was. Dean could probably have Sam hiding in there with the sprite and never notice their weight. His arm was practically thicker than either of them was tall, broken or not. "Dude, you weigh as much as a feather," Dean said dryly. "I don't think you could hurt the arm if you tried." He tilted his shoulder so the sling was held out to Bowman in welcome. "Hop on in."

Bowman tucked his wings close to dart the last few inches and land on Dean's injured arm. Even after the assurance that he probably wouldn't hurt it, Bowman tread carefully on the wrapped limb. There was no complaint from the human above, so he took it as a good sign and hid himself in the sling, crouched down on an arm much bigger than his entire body. It even gave him a decent angle to watch where Dean might walk without having to lean too far out to peek. "I'm not as light as a feather," he pointed out, milder than the contrariness might imply, just to make his stance known.

Jacob arched his eyebrows, impressed with the effective hiding place Bowman had picked out. He doubted anyone would notice the sprite there unless they walked right up to Dean to peek, and with Dean's intensity, that wasn't a likely occurrence.

"Alright, let's get going," Jacob announced, finally opening the door. Bright sunlight and a pleasant breeze burst into the room. It was a beautiful day that had no bearing on the tasks ahead of them.

The Impala shone in the sunlight, waiting for them right outside the door. She looked even more fierce in the daylight, and Jacob had a feeling he'd make a bit of a splash rolling back into his hometown driving that. "I get the feeling she won't have any trouble testing the speed limits on the way," he commented as he returned the duffel bag to the backseat.

"Not with Sam waiting for us when we get back," Dean agreed as he got in on his own side. With Bowman nestled away on his arm, the sprite was barely noticeable aside from an occasional shift that fluttered against his arm. Little and vulnerable, and relying on the two humans for as long as he was out of his native forest where he could blend into the surroundings.

Dean hoped the trust wasn't misplaced. Until they got Bowman back to his home, they were responsible for him.

That was Sam's little brother, after all. Tiny enough to squirrel away in a sling or a pocket.

"The Impala wants Sam back just as much as I do, dontcha, baby?" Dean asked as he brushed a hand along the dashboard before he leaned back. The resounding growl as Jacob turned the key certainly seemed to be in agreement with his words.

Bowman inched out of his hiding spot as the sound of the car rumbled around them. When Jacob put the car in motion, Bowman gripped the edge of the sling with one hand while his wings twitched restlessly. A lot more restlessly than he was used to, if he was honest.

He knew they were clear after a few lurching turns of the Impala that nearly sent him toppling off of the curved surface of Dean's arm. Bowman huffed and opened his wings to flutter to the dashboard instead. He stumbled when he landed, not used to the ground under his feet rumbling so much.

The world sped by around them, so much faster than Bowman could fly. He didn't get to see that so easily the night before. Now, fences and wide, square fields interspersed with the occasional blocky human dwelling flashed by the windows on either side.

"How far away is it?" he asked, looking over at Jacob.

Jacob glanced at the sprite before putting his eyes back on the road. So long as Bowman wasn't fluttering around in front of the driver side, things would be fine. "It might be a drive of a few hours, but I'll go as fast as I can."

Dean beckoned to Bowman. He might be useless as far as driving was concerned but he could try and keep Bowman from getting into trouble. Or fluttering in front of Jacob and getting them all into trouble. "Why don't you hang with me for the ride? I'm sure you've got a few good stories about Sam growing up. I might even be able to think of something to tell you. We got into enough trouble when we were kids, at least until he vanished."

Bowman tore his gaze away from the windshield and the sky beyond it to peer over at Dean. He had to smirk before he glided back across the canyon of the front seat, taking his spot on the back of the seat once more. His wings splayed out just like the last time he perched there, though they shifted more with the coffee taking its effect on him.

"If there's any story you gotta hear, it's the time we got caught taking all the honeycomb from the storeroom..."

A/N:

We're baaaack!

The previous week was a success, so far no one has gotten sick from the move we had to do cross-country, and everyone is safely back at home, quarantined with Animal Crossing: New Horizons. (It's! Addicting!)

Looks like Dean and Jacob have their shit together at last, so they're hitting the road! More to come on Wednesday~

Next: April 8th, 2020 at 9pm EST.