ST10From the heart
Sam was in dire need of coffee when he stumbled into the kitchen a little after seven. Grabbing two cups he reached for the pot when Bettina walked in. Barely functioning he hadn't bothered to comb his tousled mop of hair.
'Bed head,' Dean had smirked.
Sam had growled at him, making Dean smile.
Dean hadn't complained, he'd even tried to hide it, but the young hunter had seen the pain in his brother's eyes. When he'd asked for a cup of coffee, Sam rushed to get him one.
"Good Morning Sam, I didn't expect you boys to be up so early," she gently scolded.
"Old habits are hard to break," he grumbled.
"How's Dean feeling this morning," she asked quickly, concern for her guest written clearly on her face.
"Better," Sam replied. "In some pain, but I can't convince him to take the medication, says it makes him all goofy. Told him it wasn't the medication," the younger hunter added jokingly.
Bettina laughed. "I'll fix you some breakfast and bring it right up."
"Don't go to any trouble," Sam offered.
"No trouble at all young man, no trouble at all," she told him patting his cheek gently.
Twenty minutes later she knocked on the door a tray piled high with eggs, bacon, sausage, potatoes and warm cinnamon rolls in her hands.
Sam hurriedly took the tray and set it on the table.
Bettina was not a woman to mince words. Spinning to face them she spoke from the heart. "What you did yesterday boys was a wonderful thing. Those poor children could have been terribly hurt. And TJ, that poor little mite, has been hurt so horribly already." The older woman sighed, tears shining in her eyes. Taking a deep breath she pasted a smile back on her face and waved before hurrying for the door. "I'll have your lunch ready around noon," she shouted before scurrying down the hall.
Wide eyes Sam turned to face Dean a big smile on his face. "Where does she get all that energy," he asked.
"I like her," the little blue pixie shot out. "She has the most wonderful garden and she smells like roses all the time." Without taking a breath she continued. "Did you know that she has a gnome living in her garden?"
"A gnome," Sam asked curiously.
"Yeah, he's got a red hat and a blue jacket just like the little statue, but he doesn't have a beard and he has red hair. He helps her with the garden. He lives there under the maple tree," Periwinkle supplied helpfully. "He's cute, his name is T'Nath. Aunt B leaves him cookies and milk on the porch every night. He likes the oatmeal chocolate chip the best.
A burst of laughter was torn from the hunters and the tiny blue pixie looked up a big smile on her face. Buttercup had been right. Talking to the humans was much more fun than playing tricks on them.
An hour later, the tray was empty, hunters and pixies alike were stuffed when another visitor knock sounded at the door.
oooOOOooo
Stephen was finding it hard to contain his happiness. Running up the steps into the house he swept Aunt B into a big hug, planting a kiss on her surprised lips. "TJ can hear again," he shouted with glee.
"Oh Stephen that's wonderful news, how did it happen," she asked quickly.
"Magic," he shouted into the room.
Aunt B smiled her eyes shiny with tears. She believed in magic, she had a gnome living in her garden and pixies living in her house. Smiling she kissed his cheek. He was a good, kind man and Bettina was thrilled that he and Melisandra were going to marry.
"You take care of those boys upstairs Stephen. Their good boys," Aunt B admonished.
"I will B, Dean saved TJ's life I owe him."
Making his way down the hall Stephen was whistling a merry tune beneath his breath.
At his knock Sam opened the door a look of welcome surprise on his face.
oooOOOooo
Sam groaned. He had known that sooner or later the Sheriff was going to show up and want some answers, but the Pixie's had been too much of a distraction. This was probably her. He and Dean hadn't had time to get their stories straight. Taking a deep breath he slowly opened the door. Seeing the doctor standing on the other side Sam smiled widely and quickly opened the door to let him in.
At that moment Dean limped out of the bathroom. Wearing an old faded T-shirt and skivvies he grumbled something beneath his breath when he saw the doctor standing in the doorway.
"I thought I told you to stay off that leg," Stephen warned him.
Dean opened his mouth to argue, but the doctor cut him off before he could get a word out. "Never mind, I should have known you wouldn't, I don't know why I wasted my breath." But the words were followed by a shake of his head and a tiny twisted smile as he watched his patient slowly limp across the room to sit gingerly on the side of the bed. Some color had returned to his cheeks, and the smudges beneath his eyes had lightened. He seemed less on edge more at ease. Stephen sighed in relief.
"Is this a social call doc, cause I'm suppose to be resting here," Dean smirked.
"Sorry, not that I'm not the sociable type, but I came to check my handiwork." Stephen chuckled.
"The legs great doc, doing fine, just wonderful as you can see," Dean replied, hoping to put the doctor off.
Stephen snorted, "Just sit back and relax Dean. This is only going to take a few minutes."
Sighing, Dean leaned back and eased his injured leg up onto the bed giving the doctor easy access. It was easy to see the doc was in a good mood,
"So how's the little rugrat," Dean asked innocently.
"The rugrat, is awesome," Stephen gushed. "He woke up this morning and his hearing had returned. Just like that. Came walking into the kitchen like it was nothing. Said the bells gave him his hearing back."
Stephen took a deep breath, they could hear the quiver in his voice as he spoke, "I had almost given up hope. It's a miracle."
"Or magic," Sam whispered beneath his breath.
The brother's shared a glance then hunted for the pixies. Periwinkle was dabbing at the icing on one of Aunt B's cinnamon bun unmindful of the conversation. Buttercup on the other hand was trying desperately to hide. Giggling she slipped into a yellow rose without looking at either of the hunters.
A slow smile touched the hunter's lips. A Pixie miracle had given a young boy his hearing back, miracle and magic. "Will wonders never cease," Dean murmured thoughtfully.
A few minutes later Stephen was putting the final piece of tape in place over a new bandage when someone knocked at the door - again.
Dean looked up as Sam opened the door, grumbling beneath his breath, which he seemed to be doing a lot of lately, saying, "What is this Grand Central Station?"
The words were louder than he intended.
"No just Grand ole' Eddy Texas," the Sheriff replied as she strolled through the door.
Dean whipped the covers across his lap only to look up and see a smirk on the Sheriff's face.
Sitting on the lampshade beside the bed the two little pixies yelped when they saw the sheriff and ran for cover. Buttercup landed on Dean's neck and snuggled beneath his hair.
Periwinkle had zipped up wanting to slide into Sam's hair to hide. She back winged quickly when she saw how close he was to the sheriff. Instead she made a beeline for Dean.
Chuckling Dean mumbled beneath his breath so only they could hear. "What's got you all tangled in a knot?
"She scares me," Buttercup cried quietly.
"I'll protect you," he whispered heroically.
Buttercup nodded but didn't budge from her hiding place. Periwinkle mewled softly and hid her face, pulling at his hair as she did so.
Across the room the sheriff saw the interplay her eyes widening in surprise. Something had definitely changed.
Dean caught her eyes, and saw the speculation and surprise. So his imagination hadn't been running wild in the bar. The sheriff knew about the Pixies. Interesting!
Crossing the room she brushed a kiss across Stephen's cheek. "Aunt B told me about TJ, that's wonderful news," she told him softly.
"Wonderful and amazing, Sandi, I'd just about given up hope. I'm still pinching myself making sure I'm awake and not dreaming the whole thing.
Melisandra chuckled.
Turning the conversation back to business she asked, "Is your patient behaving himself Doc?"
Stephen stood up a smile on his face as he replied. "Surprisingly yes, all the stitches are still in place. The swelling has gone down some and there doesn't seem to be any infection. Prognosis is good! Guess I won't have to amputate after all," he chuckled winking at Dean.
Beneath his breath the hunter growled something unintelligible but it was directed at the doc.
Stephen laughed.
A few minutes later, his bag repacked Stephen stepped toward the door. He brushed a kiss across Melisandra's cheek whispering. "I missed you this morning."
It was the sheriff turn to grumble anger rising, "Had another damn sighting out by the King place. This time it was half chicken and half rabbit. I wish I knew what the hell was going on," she grumbled. Grinding her teeth in frustration she sighed and dragged her anger back into control.
"You'll figure it out Sandi," Stephen replied.
"I only hope that happens before someone gets killed," she stated.
When the door closed behind the departing doctor Dean shot the sheriff a smirking smile. "Docs a lucky man," he teased.
"I'm the lucky one," she shot back smiling.
"So what can we do for you Sheriff," Sam broke in, cringing a little when she cast a speculative look his way. He knew they were in trouble when Melisandra settled into a chair and started nibbling at one of Aunt B's cinnamon rolls.
"First I wanted to make sure you were doing ok Dean."
"Doing pretty good sheriff all things considered," Dean replied quietly.
"I'm glad to hear it. So far we've been lucky, but I don't think that's going to last much longer."
Eyeing the two men, she decided the direct attack would probably gain more information. Her voice was low and quietly menacing. "You didn't seem to be too upset by what you saw in the schoolyard yesterday. Somehow you knew the damn thing was going to explode. So I want to know what the hell you're doing in my town. Did you create those abominations, just so you could hunt them?"
"Whoa Sheriff," Dean shouted. His eyes flashed angrily and he flew off the bed, forgetting for a moment his state of undress. He winced slightly when his injured leg hit the ground but it didn't stop his temper from flaring. "We didn't create those damn things."
Melisandra stood up but remained outwardly calm in the face of Dean's storm. She felt bad for causing him pain, yet her eyes stabbed him accusingly. "How did you know about them, and what the hell are you doing in my town," she repeated?
Sam stepped in pushing his brother back a step and sharply calling his name, "Dean."
"She thinks we did this Sam," Dean growled angrily.
"No big brother, she went fishing and you got caught. Calm down and climb back into bed before you do bust those stitches out."
Dean glared angrily at his brother but didn't move, unaware that his anger was fueled by the pixies hiding in his hair.
"Dean," Sam warned him again.
Grudgingly Dean gave in taking two hobbling steps back to the bed. His anger simmered below the surface but taking a swing at the sheriff would only land him in jail.
Melisandra whispered a silent command that sent the pixies scurrying for cover into the flower bouquet. "Do not interfere!"
Sam whirled as the power of the command swirled through the room, eyeing her speculatively. He didn't hear the words, but he felt the surge as it crackled through the air around him.
The fact that Sam felt the surge of power surprised her. Hiding the knowledge Melisandra shrugged innocently, a tiny smile tilting the corner of her lips upward.
When Dean was settled back in bed Sam turned to find the sheriff sitting back in the chair nibbling the cinnamon bun again. "We don't know where those creatures come from sheriff. We read about the attacks on the internet."
"So you came to bag a trophy," she replied doing her best to provoke them.
Sam didn't rise to the bait saying, "No sheriff, like you we want to know where they come from and get rid of them."
With the flight of the pixies Dean's anger had faded away. "We encountered them a few days ago. We managed to destroy three of the creatures. Some kind of grizzly, cougar, wolf combination"
"That's how you know they'll explode."
"Yeah," Sam mumbled. "We found out the hard way."
"And you survived unscathed," she wondered?
"Not exactly," Sam replied wincing at the memory. "We had a little help."
Putting the last piece of the puzzle in place, she breathed the word quietly, "Pixies."
"Yeah, Pixies," the hunters replied together.
"They decided it would be fun to keep us," Sam snorted in amusement.
Dean called them, "Come out girls, and meet the Sheriff, Melisandra this is Buttercup and Periwinkle."
"Oh we've already met," Melisandra chuckled.
"Right, in the bar a few nights ago," Dean added. "You saw them, how?"
"Yup, I saw them," she grumbled.
"How," Sam repeated.
"Suffice it to say it is both a gift and curse," she answered wryly. "I see things, thankfully not dead things. Most people only read about them in books," she replied ruefully. "How is it that you can see them now? I'd swear on my badge you didn't know anything about them a couple of days ago."
"Buttercup can explain," Dean laughed.
The little yellow Pixie crossed her arms across her chest and stared belligerently at the sheriff. "I made a little wish."
"A little wish," the sheriff asked in amusement?
"I wanted to talk to them," she mumbled. "I didn't really mean too, it just happened."
"Talk to them – is that all? Why didn't you heal his leg this time," the sheriff asked quickly.
"He wouldn't let me," she whimpered. "I was going to but he told me I couldn't."
"Ahh, I see," Melisandra replied thoughtfully, knowing half the town had seen him get hurt. It would a little strange if the next day he was wandering around town unscathed. Winking at the little pixie, she told her softly, "I'm glad that you tried."
Looking up Buttercup saw the approval in the sheriff's eyes and smiled shyly.
Melisandra was still concerned about the little pixie. Her behavior was strange, she seemed to care – truly care about Dean. She had yet to form an opinion about the little blue pixie. Periwinkle now sat on Sam shoulder her fingers entwined in his hair. Her behavior was nothing out of the ordinary, her emotions were not truly engaged, she liked Sam but that was as far at it went.
Turning her attention back to the problem at hand she replied, "That still doesn't explain what you are doing in my town gentlemen."
Sam sat on the edge of the bed and took a deep breath glancing at Dean before he started talking. "The origin of the creatures is somewhere around here. I've got the location pinned down to a 5 mile area – near the lake. We just haven't had time to cover all that ground - yet."
"Why Sam, why this town, why now?"
"I don't know. These creatures are unnatural Sheriff. They don't belong here, something or someone is perverting them and allowing them to crossover. Like you we just wanted to figure out what's happening and make sure nobody gets hurt."
"What about you, guess it doesn't matter if you get hurt," she replied softly.
"It matters Sheriff," Dean answered wryly, "What matters more is that we stop what ever is happening before some innocent child gets hurt."
Melisandra sighed. "I'm at a loss gentleman. Nothing about this makes sense."
"Your right, it doesn't make sense. Let us help Sheriff," Sam replied. "We're good at this kind of thing."
"This kind of thing," she asked chuckling. "I'm not even going to ask what that means." And the hunters didn't elaborate.
Sam brought out his computer and the file with all his research. When Dean moved to get out of bed Sam and the Sheriff whirled and glared saying. "Stay put!"
Dean grumbled, but settled back under watchful eyes.
Moving the computer to the end of the bed where Dean could see, the three of them went over the information hoping the Sheriff might see something they had missed. It might help them understand more about what was going on.
Melisandra was impressed with their research. The details were there but it was impossible to put all the clues together and come up with an answer. She now had a better idea of what they were chasing, but it didn't solve the mystery of how they got that way.
They discussed the problem in detail coming at it from every angle without a successful conclusion. It only meant they had to try harder and spend a little more time hunting.
"Well I have a town to see too gentlemen," Melisandra sighed. "I guess I'd better get back to it." Heading for the door she stopped abruptly and turned back. "Dean you should really let Buttercup take care of that leg. You can't hunt monsters like that," she chuckled. "But I don't want either of you chasing around town today. You still need the rest guys you both look like death warmed over. Even if you do decide to let the Buttercup take care of your leg Dean you both need to take it easy."
"What about the doctor," Sam asked quickly?
"Don't worry about Stephen; I'll explain it to him. Aunt B already knows about the pixies. She explained all about them to me this morning. Did you happen to notice your room had turned into a hothouse?"
The hunters chuckled as they glanced around the room. They had been more concerned with Dean's injury the night before and getting him settled. Now they saw every table top and corner was filled with flowers or potted plants.
Melisandra grinned at the looks of chagrin on their faces. "Take care guys; I'll catch up with you later. Aunt B is making Lasagna for dinner."
A silent whisper crossed the distance capturing the Pixie's attention. "Thank you for a miracle," Melisandra told the pixies."
Periwinkle looked from one to the other confusion on her face. Buttercup waved shyly whispering, "You're welcome."
Once Melisandra was out the door a little yellow pixie flitted into the air and stopped just inches from the tip of Dean's nose. Her arms were folded across her chest and she looked at the hunter expectantly.
Dean chuckled. His damn leg hurt like hell and he would be very, very happy to let her take that pain away, but there was something he needed to know first.
"Why Buttercup," Dean whispered. "Why did you help TJ?"
For a second the little pixie didn't say anything. Thinking Dean was upset with her tears filler her eyes and she ducked her head in shame. "I didn't mean to make you angry."
Dean sucked in a breath at the misery he saw on her face. The pixies tears ripped away another chunk of his armor. "No Buttercup, please, I'm not angry with you. What you did for the boy was beyond amazing. It's exactly what I would have wished for. I just wanted to know why you helped him?"
A bright smile lit her face. Clapping her hands together she held them close to her heart as she spoke. Her words were soft and laced with the love she carried deep in her heart. "I wanted to make you happy. I wanted to make you smile," she told him simply.
Dean sucked in a breath as his world tilted dangerously. The little pixie had not only put a chink in his armor, she'd stolen a piece of his heart.