A/N:
Thanks to Shadow cat 181 and Dextolan for the reviews!
Bowman snickered and pulled his own piece of mushroom free of the pizza. It tasted different cooked, but he still liked it. Humans might be odd, but that didn't mean all their strange ideas were bad. "You can have that stuff all you want," he quipped. "No meat for me."
Scar smirked. "I have to agree. I might have a lot of respect for the wolves but I'm not about to eat like them."
"We'll take care of it for you, don't worry," Jacob assured them. And probably the rest of the vegetarian pizza, too he thought more to himself. The one slice he had set aside for them was still far more food than three tiny people could eat. Luckily, Jacob didn't mind mushrooms on his pizza.
Dean, on the other hand, definitely did. He snatched up another slice of pepperoni to start in on. "Good, more for me."
Sam had to hide a smile in his own bite of pizza. Everyone was getting along so well. He could feel a warmth in his chest at the thought of both his worlds fitting together just like he'd fit into them. It meant the world to him that Bowman and Dean were sassing each other with no regard for how different they could be.
"Tomorrow," Sam said out loud, pulling the others attention to himself, "there will be more chances for sunlight." He didn't say the rest. That the entire time he and Scar had been captured Bobby had sealed them away from the sun. Inside of a dark glove box, out in a room with the windows shaded.
Dean nodded, sobering up in light of the reminder. "As much as everyone needs." He wasn't going to forget what he'd learned about the sprites from Jacob anytime soon.
Scar hummed thoughtfully and glanced over his shoulder at his injured wing. Some sunlight after everything else it had been through would do wonders for him, and he knew he'd be spending as much time in the sun as he could once they were all safely back home. From the way Bowman's own shoulders sagged, he was exhausted, too.
"You'll definitely get all the light you need for the trip back. Should be clear skies tomorrow," Jacob added. He helped himself to another slice, this time taking from the vegetarian side.
Bowman's wings stretched behind him before settling back down on the table. He truly couldn't imagine being in Scar's state. Unable to fly, unable to even move his wing without hurting it, Scar was more vulnerable than Bowman had ever seen him. His healing couldn't come soon enough.
"We'll be fine," he said confidently.
"You won't have to worry about a thing tomorrow," Dean reassured them. "We'll make sure everyone gets back to the village safely. That's what we're here for."
Since they'd all put their pizza down and were shifting around like they were ready to sleep, Dean held out his hand. He'd finished his two slices and there were more waiting, but first things first. He needed to take care of the others before himself. It was an old remnant of his protective instincts with a little brother around, returning to the front of his mind with Sam back as though it had never been gone. He felt more like himself than he had in years.
"How 'bout we get you guys settled in for the night?" Dean offered. "The sooner you sleep, the sooner we get you to Cerul and Rischa."
Scar smirked. "Am I that obvious?" he quipped, not bothering to deny his own exhaustion. The sooner he could heal, the sooner that would go away and he could return to his duties protecting the Wellwood like he was supposed to. He was certain his remaining knights had everything under control in his and Sam's absence, but all the same Scar was itching to see the state of his village.
Jacob finished off his pizza quickly before standing up and brushing his hands off absently. "Maybe a pillow," he mused out loud. He crossed to one of the beds and fished one of its worn out pillows out from underneath the neatly-tucked blankets.
Scar's eyebrows shot up and he chuckled at what to him was a comically large bed. "Oh, I'll try to manage," he said dryly, before taking the opportunity to glance around the rest of the room again. If he wasn't so tired, and becoming more so by the second, he might have asked about some of the strange sights that greeted his eyes.
"Don't worry, you're not the only one," Sam said, stifling a yawn into his arm. After the excitement of the night before and the uncertainty of the day, he was thankful to have escaped that house without any broken bones of his own. The memory of seeing Dean standing there with a gun held on Bobby might be one of his most treasured, despite the bad memories that tied to it.
Scooping up the knight jacket, his belt and the rapier, Sam was sure to brush his knife off on one of the napkins nearby to clean off the remaining pizza sauce. He tucked it away in the hidden pocket of his jacket then stepped onto Dean's offered hand.
Bowman got to his feet to offer Scar a hand before he could even think about standing up himself. Scar rolled his eyes but accepted his help, making his way over to Dean's careful hand with a flick of his uninjured wing. "You're all acting like I'm some withered little elder," he groused mildly, planting his feet the best he could on Dean's callused palm.
"Just you wait 'til the healers get to you," Bowman shot back. While only two sprites in Wellwood had the healing touch, several more were proficient enough in their Prayers to help with the healing. They would be fussing just as much, as was their duty when a knight returned injured.
Sam winced. "Once they get you, there's no escape until they decide you're healed." That might be enough on its own to drive his mentor to distraction.
The village would have its hands full trying to keep Scar still long enough to finish healing.
Dean brought his hand close to his chest, giving them an extra wall in case the ride was unsteady at all. The pillow Jacob had set up was waiting for them, and Dean stooped down to let them off. "I've got an extra shirt if you need something to keep warm with," he said as Sam helped Scar carefully down from his hand.
"That's probably a good idea," Sam admitted, thinking that a blanket would be easier on his bruises than putting his jacket back on.
Dean bustled around the room, gathering up one of the warm flannels he had in his duffel. It was one of the few clean shirts he had left. It took up half of the pillow, leaving them room to set up their sleep area the way they decided. Once it was set up, he made his way back to the table, planning on finishing any pepperoni that Jacob made the mistake of leaving in the box.
Scar gave up his grousing once he was settled on the pillow with the shirt fabric over his legs. He felt like he was sitting on a cloud, and he sighed begrudgingly. It would do. It was a thousand times more luxurious than he usually had, that was for blasted sure.
He settled down awkwardly, wincing once or twice as he shifted his wing. He already anticipated the healers and Cerul would advise that he stay in bed or seated in the sunlight while his wing healed. It sounded like more agony than the broken wing itself, to sit still for so long doing nothing. He fell asleep to the determined thought that he'd find something for himself to do, no matter what they said.
Bowman waited until Scar's eyelids closed to focus on Sam again. With the humans back over at the table, they had a moment on their own. Bowman had never seen his brother so beat up, even though he'd been a knight for years now. There were a few scratches and bumps along the way, but nothing that spoke so loudly of how truly awful a human was capable of being.
"You gonna be alright?" he asked quietly.
Sam's hand almost went to the sleeve of his shirt, unconsciously seeking to hide the bruises that were peeking out. He stilled the instinct before following through. Bowman already knew how bad he was hurt. There was no hiding it.
"I'll…" Sam had to close his mouth and try to clear his throat before going on. Now that it was all over and done with, he could feel the residual terror from being in Bobby's hands lurking in the back of his mind. Even going so far as to be dangled by one leg, upside down. If Sam didn't have so much assurance in his skills at catching himself midair with his wingsuit, that might have broken him right there.
The shudder that ran through his body was involuntary. "I'll be fine," he said quietly, looking away from Dean and Jacob sitting at the table in the room. He had to remind himself that he was safe. They were all safe so long as they were with the two humans. They'd both proven themselves more than once.
That thought didn't make it easier. He would always know, firsthand, just how easily they could take his freedom away.
"I just need time," Sam mumbled, almost to himself. Maybe if he said it enough he'd start believing it.
Bowman's brow pinched in worry. "Yeah. Of course." He knew better than to push too much and try to pry anything more out of Sam. He recognized well enough when his brother didn't want to talk about something. It used to happen when they were younger, and Sam reflected on his old life before his curse.
Those times, he closed up and got a distant look on his face. Rischa would go and sit with him quietly. Even before they knew she had the Voice, she always knew when Sam simply needed quiet companionship while he fell into his thoughts.
This time, Sam was holding back something different. Considering the state of Scar's wing, Bowman could only guess what sorts of things Sam had endured. He'd simply avoided having any bones broken, though the human remained in Bowman's memory as a fearsome thing. He'd only seen him for all of a few minutes, and it was enough.
"There'll be plenty of time," Bowman added with a nod. He lay back on the pillow, staring at the faraway ceiling of the room. He might not know much about healing like Rischa and Cerul, but he'd do his best to help Sam however he could.
"Maybe in a couple days we can do a patrol. Go out gliding and clear our heads and just check on things."
Sam's face was as distant in the present as it was in Bowman's memories. "I'd like that." He settled down on the pillow, but instead of staring up at the ceiling, he took a moment to gather the flannel shirt around him. It was clean and fresh, but even so a scent that called to mind his brother's face clung to it. It was comforting, and gave Sam something else to hold onto in the massive room.
Despite the fact that he'd grown up in rooms just like this one, it was unfamiliar and alien because of the sheer size of things. The bed alone was large enough to play a football game on if they could get enough teammates, and high enough off the ground that they'd get hurt if they stumbled off during the night.
It was different than his memories, and it always would be.
Sam pulled the flannel shirt close around his body. Instead of sprawling out like he normally did in his own home, he curled into as small a ball as he could. The shirt became a warm cocoon that guarded him from the sight of the world around him.
Over at the table, Jacob slowed down on his vegetarian pizza to glance over at the pillow. All three of its occupants had settled in, though for a moment he couldn't even find Sam. While he watched, Bowman turned over on his side and covered himself with a wing. He'd curl up more and more throughout the night.
"Looks like they're out," Jacob remarked. He leaned back in his chair and glanced ruefully at Dean's arm. From the start, he'd felt swept up in things. The moment he'd caught Bowman, his life had changed.
Now, his best friend of years was effectively gone. Bobby survived his possession but he'd been twisted beyond recognition. Jacob couldn't help but wonder what might have happened to him if Dean hadn't managed to exorcise him.
He sighed faintly. "Dude, I'm ... I'm sorry for what Bobby did. This feels like something I coulda done more to prevent. Somehow. I'll make sure he doesn't ... I'll keep an eye on him."
Dean put what was left of his slice down, the rest of his appetite fleeing at the memory of Bobby, completely exorcised and returned to himself, protesting that if they took Sam and Scar back, they were stealing. The sheer presumption of the teenager would never sit well with Dean. Saving him only to have him turn on them and take two people away from their home against their will.
"None of that was your fault," Dean stated gruffly, leaving no room for argument in his tone. "There was no way to know how he'd react to being possessed. It looks to me like the demon found something it was looking for in Bobby. You didn't have that reaction."
He glanced over at the bed, smiling faintly at the sight of the three tiny people all sleeping away. All that was visible of Sam was the fluffy brown hair sticking out of a fold in the dark shirt.
"Everyone's safe, and that's what matters," Dean reaffirmed. "And if Bobby does anything, give me a call first. There's no telling what he'll be capable of if he kidnapped two people with no remorse. I'll leave you my main number. I always answer it."
Jacob's eyebrows arched and he nodded in surprise. "Alright. I'll definitely let you know if I see anything," he replied. He followed Dean's glance over at the pillow one last time, this time seeing no stirring. The three of them were out cold. They were safe. Jacob would do what he could to keep things that way.
His eyes fell on the sling still cradling Dean's arm. It was, apparently, one wound of so many that the hunter had dealt with over the years. "Ever since I met Sam and Bowman I've wondered how much I've seen that might actually have to do with something supernatural," he admitted. Just a moment later, he chuckled sheepishly. "Y'know, I think I jumped in over my head."
Dean waved that off. "I think that's the only way people get pulled into hunting," he said dryly. "Trust me, anyone with half a sense would run the complete opposite direction." He sighed as he thought back on his own life. There wasn't much else he could have done, the way he was raised. It was just who he was now. All the way from childhood he'd been trained to hunt and fight.
Sam had been the one that was spared most of that, for all the good it had done him. He'd still suffered and been cast away from his family under a curse none of them saw coming. The small knight had lived up to his potential, even after having his size and family ripped away. He protected the people who'd raised him, and from what Dean had seen, as little as that was, Sam was good at what he did.
It was hard to look away from the pillow, knowing that among the folds of that shirt slept his little brother. So many years Dean had thought Sam dead and buried, and instead he was resting peacefully not five feet from the table.
With effort, Dean tore his attention away from the bed. "Look, just don't go running headlong into anything without being prepared," he told Jacob. "There's a lot more out there than anyone knows about."
Jacob put his hands up in mock surrender and shook his head. "I don't think you gotta worry about that with me," he answered confidently. "I never look for trouble, but it does find me sometimes." Now, he supposed, he would be ready for it. If nothing else, he was already dealing with the revelation that things aren't all what they seem. He could skip panic next time and get right to calling for help.
"I think for now I'll stick to checking on Wellwood every once in a while," he mused more quietly, eyeing the ice packs he'd put together. They were melting and soaking into the rags, so he absently pushed them all into a pile. "They didn't even know humans existed until Sam showed up there, so I hear."
Dean stared down at the table, remembering how small the circle of three had been. Two sprites and a cursed human, taking up less space than Dean needed if he wanted to rest an arm on the table. "I'm somehow not surprised."
Not once in all Dean's years of hunting had he ever heard of sprites like the ones sleeping in the room with them. "It'll be good to keep an eye on them," he agreed. "Just in case another person like Bobby finds them. If they ever run into trouble down the line, I'd want to be there. They saved Sam when we gave him up for dead. I owe them… everything."
A/N:
Everything's looking like it's wrapped up nicely, but Dean can't stop from dwelling on the 'what ifs'
Two more chapters left!
Next: May 10th, 2020 at 9pm EST.
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