This story is a one shot involving the OC, Lou Smith, from the story Honey and Hell Hounds. It's just a little bit of background on Lou as a teen and how Bobby gets to know her. More importantly I'd like to put in a trigger warning...
TRIGGER WARNINGS: reference to childhood abuse and malnutrition
Lou was a strange teenager.
Bobby knew that it wasn't kind to judge the poor girl, but it was true. She was just plain strange.
She had the look of a small bird or stray cat, painfully thin with lanky and disproportionate limbs. He knew a lot of teen girls were into that whole dieting thing, but Lou apparently took it to an extreme. Her clothes hung off her limply, like she was nothing more than a child size coat hanger. Despite her obsession with her weight she dressed like a boy. She wore baggy t-shirts and dockers button downs with loose fitting jeans and a belt notched all the way in. Her buzz cut certainly didn't do her any favors either. It made her ears stick out and it somehow drew attention to how hollow her cheeks were and the deep wells under her eyes. Who knew when the last time that girl slept was, maybe never.
But by far the strangest thing about Lou Smith was that she didn't talk. Bobby had only heard her speak a handful of times in the years he'd known her.
The effect of these things was that she was little more than a shadow most of the time. She went about unnoticed and when you did notice her it was a little frightening. She had an other-worldly quality to her with her expressionless face and tired eyes.
When Bobby called Stan to get some help with a demon issue, he'd been thrown for a loop when Stan recommended that he pick up his daughter, Lou, and have her help. Bobby still wasn't sure why he agreed to it, because it was really a layered issue for him.
For one, even if Lou was a little odd, she was still a teenager. A child. Why on earth was she holed up in some motel, by herself, halfway across the country? Secondly, did this mean Stan intended for Lou to physically assist him with the demon? Surely that couldn't be the case. What kind of father would put his child in harm's way like that? Better yet, how often did he put that kind of responsibility on Lou for her to be capable of helping with a demon?
Whatever the case Bobby found himself driving out to get Lou, and when he pulled up to the motel, she was waiting for him outside with a duffle bag thrown over her shoulder.
The car ride was uncomfortably quiet, and Bobby spent most of the time trying to decide what to do. Was he really going through with this? I mean, he'd driven all the way out there and picked the girl up and now they were almost to the town in question. The one spilling over with demonic omens.
Lou was entirely unphased by it all. When he explained the case to her she had simply nodded along politely and when he stopped talking, she just turned and looked out the window blankly.
Finally, with his gas tank running low and his nerves thoroughly frazzled, he decided to make a pit stop. He could use a pick-me-up. When he pulled up to the gas station Lou looked over at him curiously, and to his surprise, she spoke.
"May I go in?" she asked politely.
Bobby knitted his brows together in surprise and nodded. "'Course. Wouldn't expect ya to wait out here, would I?"
Lou didn't answer, but he thought he saw a flicker of relief cross her features. She reached down to pick up the bag at her feet and Bobby frowned.
"Ya know, you can uh, you can leave that in here?" Bobby offered.
Lou hesitated, and spoke again, "Are you going in too?"
Bobby nodded slowly. "That was the plan, yeah."
Lou gently set the bag back down on the floor, but she didn't move to get out of the car. She chewed on her lip and looked at her bag with grave concern.
Bobby's frown deepened. "I can lock the door if ya'd like."
Lou's shoulders dropped in relief and she nodded fervently.
Bobby opened his own car door. "Come on then, let's get goin'."
He watched the young woman hesitate one last time before getting out of the car herself.
Once inside the gas station Lou disappeared from sight, and Bobby worried himself over to the coffee bar as he tried to figure out where she might have gone. Perhaps the bathroom?
Bobby got himself a very large cup of coffee and perused the snacks as he waited for her to reappear.
When she did so, she had a large water bottle in hand and looked as though she were searching for him. The choice of water was surprisingly sensible, but she didn't appear to have picked out anything else.
"Why don't cha grab something to snack on?" He gestured to the bags of chips and candies surrounding them.
Lou looked surprised by this idea and turned to the selection of foods beside them. Bobby watched her take in the options with a worried expression until her eyes locked onto something she deemed appropriate. She picked up a jar of mixed nuts with an approving nod and turned back to Bobby expectantly.
"Ya don't want any candy or nothin'?" Bobby asked hesitantly.
Lou blinked and turned to the other side of the isle that was full of candy. She looked confused and a little concerned.
"Ya don't have to, I was just saying ya could," Bobby pointed out. "A candy bar or two never hurt anybody."
Lou nodded slowly and turned her eyes up to him with an apprehensive expression. It suddenly occurred to him that he'd never made eye contact with the girl. Her eyes were a deep amber brown and framed with thick lashes. They were surprisingly feminine and he would even go so far as to say they were innocent.
"What kind of candy bar do you like?" she asked earnestly.
Bobby fumbled. "Well, uh. I like 100 Grand Bars, and uh. 3 Musketeers. And uh, Sugar Babies, though I guess those aren't a candy bar."
Lou turned her eyes back to the sweets with a solemn nod. She found the red 100 Grand wrappers first and picked up two them, holding one out to him politely.
He thanked her awkwardly, and they headed to the front to check out. There was a short line and when Bobby glanced over at Lou, she was watching another teenager at the icee machine.
"Ya want one?" he asked.
Lou looked up in alarm and then down at her feet. She shook her head vehemently and something about the action bothered Bobby.
"It's ok, I was just askin'…" he comforted. "It's okay if ya want one, we haven't checked out yet."
The young girl seemed to shrink back, but Bobby forged ahead. He guided her to the icee machine and when he turned back to look at her, she looked frightened.
"What's wrong?" he asked in a panic.
She just shook her head again and kept her eyes on the floor. Bobby set his coffee down on the counter, along with everything else in his hands, and bent down to her level. He was surprised to see her eyes glossed over.
"Lou, what's wrong?" he asked with a gentle hand on her shoulder.
She hugged the water bottle and snack to her chest.
He was completely bewildered. Maybe she wasn't feeling well? Maybe he'd been too pushy?
"Lou, I can't help ya if ya don't tell me what's wrong," he explained gently.
The teen girl pursed her lips before answering him in with a trembling voice, "It's against the rules."
Bobby just stared at her in confusion. "What is?"
She held out the candy bar meekly with tears welling in her eyes. "The candy and the icee. I didn't realize it was test. I'm sorry Mr. Singer. Please don't tell my father."
Bobby's heart snapped in two as the girl stared up at him with pleading eyes. He swallowed as a mess of memories overtook him. He could hear his own Father's voice and the familiar sting of a hand across his cheek. Without thinking he pulled Lou into a hug. The water bottle crinkled between them, and the jar of peanuts poked into his ribs uncomfortably, but it didn't matter. He held Lou firmly in his arms.
Lou didn't move, but she didn't pull away. She stayed absolutely still as he held her and when he finally pulled back she looked completely lost.
He held her at arm's length, and he picked his words carefully, "Lou, whatever the rules are, when you're around me, I promise that I am never testing ya. If I ask ya if ya want something, it's because ya can have it."
Lou still looked hesitant, she clutched the candy bar anxiously, and her eyes flickered up to the icee machine wearily.
"I promise," he reassured her. "Cross my heart," he added for good measure. He crossed his finger over his heart and there was a flicker of a smile across her features.
"Do ya understand?" he asked.
Lou wavered briefly but nodded, and he nodded back.
He stood up to full height with a small sniffle and cleared his throat before asking, "Now, what flavor would ya like?"
Lou stared up at the options awestruck and he offered, "Ya could mix 'em if you can't decide."
Lou just nodded and Bobby grabbed the largest cup they had and mixed together the cherry and the coke flavor. He got a lid and a straw and held it out to her. She fumbled with what was already in her hands, and Bobby took the water bottle and the snacks so that she could focus on the icee. She looked down at it with wide eyes and gave him one last questioning glance.
He nodded in reassurance. "Go on, try it."
Lou took a small sip and then did the most unexpecting thing he could think of.
She smiled.
Lou's face slipped into million-watt smile that made his heart ache. He smiled back and collected his own things from the counter.
"Come on, let's go," he said.
Lou followed him to check-out while contently sipping her drink, and Bobby set down their things and watched her out of the corner of his eye as the cashier rung them up. Lou stopped to look at some of the little dodads and trinkets lining the counter, and he watched as she focused in on a stuffed animal key chain. It was a yellow crocodile with a strange resemblance to a banana and Bobby watched as she, ever so gently, patted the head of the crocodile.
"Will that be all, sir?" the cashier asked.
Bobby had to clear his throat before he could answer, "I'll take one of them key chains too."
"Right," the cashier responded dryly.
He bagged everything up, and Bobby reached out to pick up the key chain Lou had been admiring and handed it to her. She took it with the same awestruck expression as when he handed her the icee and followed him out to the truck in a daze.
She got in the truck while he walked around the side to start pumping gas.
Bobby cursed himself quietly for judging the poor girl. She wasn't diet obsessed; she was malnourished. She wasn't quiet; she was afraid. She probably didn't pick her clothes or haircut. Bobby felt sick to his stomach as he connected all the dots. What was he supposed to do now? Let the girl go back to her clearly abusive father? Take her on a demon hunt?
Stanley wasn't just some abusive Dad; Stan was a dangerous and experienced hunter. Even if he tried to take Lou, Stan would likely come after her and where would Bobby take her anyway? He couldn't very well put her in foster care or take her to the police. Home? Absolutely not. What business did he have raising a teenage girl?
Maybe he could talk with some other hunters. John maybe? Rufus? Ellen? Between the lot of 'em they ought to be able to do something.
With the tank full he came back around to the driver's side and paused momentarily to watch Lou through the window.
She was gingerly holding the yellow crocodile in both hands and lightly squishing it while the stuffed keychain grinned up at her. She smiled softly to herself and when Bobby opened the door, she looked over at him with the same soft expression.
"Thank you," she said in delicate voice.
Bobby got into his seat with gruff 'you're welcome' and said a silent prayer that he could find a way to do right by the strange girl.