So I'm trying to decide. The chapters I post are fairly short…would those of you who follow prefer longer chapters but likely, less updates, or should I keep the system I have in place as is? Well, the boys finally get to see what Aiyla looks like, wonder what their reactions will be?

Chapter 9

Aiyla was sick of lying about. Sheriff Mills had left several hours ago, ordering her to rest. And she had. The no nonsense woman reminded her of Amerielle; and Aiyla had learned at a young age that personality types such as Amee's and Sheriff Mills were not to be crossed. Not unless one was prepared to get an earful.

In any case, Mill's order proved unnecessary. The painful process of getting clean and bandaged had worn Aiyla out to the point where she had barely been able to keep her eyes open. She had slept several hours. The sun reined high in the sky when she fell asleep. Gazing out the window by her bed now, she could see the shadows cast outside grew longer by the minute. Sunset was only a few hours away.

Being cooped up indoors, injuries or no was absolute torture. Captivity had been Aiyla's constant companion for far too long. Aiyla peeked out the window again. Her protectors had left one by one over the last half hour. She could see Dean outside, working on a big beast of a car. Bobby and Sam were nowhere in sight, nor the angel. They probably all expected her to sleep the day away. However, the earth called to her like a siren. She needed to feel it beneath her feet, even if it was just the dusty old dirt of what appeared to be a place where vehicles came to die. Biting her lip, she nodded decisively to herself. She was going outside. They probably would not be pleased. Aiyla shrugged, she was more inclined to beg forgiveness than ask permission…of which she was certain would be a resounding no.

She eased her legs over the side of the bed, wincing when her ribs protested. Aiyla ignored the ache, gritting her teeth. "First things first…clothes." Sheriff Mills had stripped the dress Aiyla wore almost immediately, stating its only future was with a burn barrel. Eyeing the chest of drawers across the room, Aiyla took a deep breath as if preparing for battle. She hefted herself onto her feet, or rather her good one. Dizziness hit her instantly. The room tilted and spun. She was stubborn, and rode out the nauseating wave with clenched teeth. Eventually the room righted itself. Aiyla reached for the shiny crutches Mill's had left by her bedside. Frowning, she stared at the padded tops…they were eyelevel…far too tall. It took Aiyla a good 5 minutes to figure out how to adjust the crutches, and another 10 to accomplish the task. By the time she was finished, a cold sweat had broken out on her brow. She grinned triumphantly, eyeing the newly adjusted supports with pride. Unfortunately, her wrist prevented her from using both in tandem, so for the time being she set one back against the wall. It was lucky that last demon had broken her opposite ankle and wrist. Otherwise, the crutch would not have proved much help at all. She made a couple of practice circles around the room, grinning ruefully and panting with exertion. She certainly wouldn't win any awards for grace; in fact she was fairly certain she resembled a one legged circus performer with an inner ear problem. She was functional though, and that was all that mattered. Opening the chest of drawers, Aiyla frowned at the selection. This was obviously Bobby Singer's wardrobe; consisting of blue pants that would never fit round her waist, and a multitude of patterned shirts. Aiyla wracked her brain, trying to recall a catalogue her aunt had possessed with ready-made clothing littering it's pages. She believed shirts such as these were called flannel. She picked up one of them; twisting it about with interest…it would just have to do.

Dressing herself proved to be quite the trial; the tiny little buttons on the flannel nearly defeated her. However, after a brief battle, she emerged victorious. Aiyla reclaimed her crutch and hobbled to the doorway. She peeked around the doorframe, loath to be caught now and sent back to bed. Seeing no one about, Aiyla hobbled to the stairs. She furrowed her brow, frowning at her newest obstacle. On her best day, Aiyla wasn't exactly the most coordinated of souls…and today was certainly not among her best. Trying to walk down with a crutch and bum wrist would likely prove disastrous. Sighing, Aiyla slowly lowered herself to her bottom with a pained grown. Grasping the crutch, she sent it sliding down the stairs with a noisy clatter. Wincing, she stilled and listened for the telltale noise of booted feet and gruff male voices. Thankfully none sounded. Sighing in relief, Aiyla began the awkward process of scooting down the stairs on her butt. She was going to make it outside if it killed her.

SUPERNATURAL

Dean glanced up from the impala when the telltale crunch of tires on gravel sounded. Sam and Bobby were back. Cass had left shortly after Sheriff Mills departed, leaving the three hunters to tiptoe about downstairs, not wanting to disturb their sleeping guest. Creeping around the house quickly grew tiresome. Dean had finally escaped to work on his baby, while Sam and Bobby decided to run into town for the medical supplies Jody had listed. Dean wiped the grease from his hands on an old rag and walked to the hunters.

"Took you guys long enough, you get everything?"

Sam unfolded his towering frame from the car, "Yeah, had to go to three different places before we found a wrist guard."

Bobby held up the bags, "We found the damn thing though, and everything else on that god-awful list." He peered around, "Angel boy still not back?"

"He is."

Bobby and Sam started. Castiel appeared next to the car. He reached inside, pulling out another bag and peering into it with interest. "Has the female woken Dean?"

Dean shuffled his feet, "Well ah…I haven't been inside. I'm sure she's still sleeping, what with those injuries and all."

Sam shot Dean his best bitch-face. "You haven't checked on her? He glanced at the sun, riding low on the horizon. She's probably half-starved, we haven't fed her since she got here, and there's no telling when the last time was she got anything decent when Crowley had her. What if she had to use the bathroom Dean?"

Dean held up his hands, "Oh there's no way in hell I'm helping with that shit. If you're so worried about her, why don't you go check on her Sammy?"

Cass whipped his head up, frowning, "I don't think that will be necessary." The hunters followed Cass's gaze to the doorway of the house. "I know you're there Aiyla."

Aiyla sheepishly hobbled out of the shadow of the doorway, biting her lip. Sam's eyebrows winged, Bobby's mouth dropped, and Dean let out a low whistle. Even Cass's eyes grew wide. This female standing before them looked far different from the one they had rescued from Crowley's warehouse.

Aiyla's previously dirty gray, snarled hair, now hung long and straight in a shimmering curtain of liquid silver. Cass's hand itched to touch the thick mass of silk that reached well past her hips, wondering if it would feel as soft as it looked. He quickly put his hands in his pockets, banishing the thought immediately. Never, in his multitude of eons, had Castiel encountered a being with hair of such a color. Her eyebrows and lashes were several shades darker than her hair, a smoky gunmetal gray. The thick frame of her lashes and the striking shade of her hair set off the glittering jewel tones of her azure eyes with almost poetic finesse. Cass tore his gaze from her eyes, continuing his observations. She was very pale, but for a feverish blush that stained her cheeks, alluding to her recent injuries, and the exertion she had obviously put forth to make it outside. A smattering of freckles cascaded across rounded baby cheeks and a delicate little nose. She had a stubborn chin and full, rosy lips.

Bobby frowned, "Is that my shirt?"

Dean leaned toward Sam, mumbling under his breath, "Looks way better on her than the old man, that's for sure."

She was a tiny thing. Dean guessed her to be nor more that 5'3" or so. She had indeed fashioned one of Bobby's flannel shirts into a makeshift dress. The shirt hung nearly to her knees, and the sleeves bunched at her wrists, threatening to slip down well past her fingertips if given the chance. She had somehow managed to loop one of Bobby's belts around her waist and buckle it in an effort to shape the too-large shirt more closely to her form. She's had to loop the belt twice around her tiny waist in order to keep it from sliding down. Gently rounded hips gave way to legs that weren't exactly long, but they were well proportioned to her small stature. Her ankles were delicately tapered…or at least one of them was, it's twin remained swollen beneath it's bandaging.

She stood before them, barefoot, teetering unsteadily on her good foot and leaning heavily on a crutch. "Ummm, hello again?"

Sam was the first to shake himself from their collective stupor. "Aiyla, you should be resting, how did you even manage to get down the stairs?"

She shrugged sheepishly, "Creatively? I… I just wanted to..." She began to waver on the crutches, the bright spots on her cheeks grew brighter, "I…"

Castiel instantly appeared at her side. Steadying her, he slid the crutch from under her arm, dropping it without ceremony. Clasping one arm behind her back, he used the other to sweep her legs from under her. She squeaked in surprise, clasping at his neck and winced.

Cass peered down at her with furrowed brows, "My apologies, I imagine the wounds on your back are tender. However, you should have stayed in bed, you have grossly overtaxed yourself young one."

Getting over her shock, she raised her chin, "I'm not that young. I will be twenty one at winter's onset."

Dean snorted, "Yeah, practically ancient. You look like you're 12."

She shot the hunter a glare, "I do not."

Dean smirked, "Whatever Jailbait."

Sam angled Dean a reproachful glare, "Dean!"

Bobby swung, broadsiding Dean with one of the grocery bags. "Show a little decorum ya dumbass, the half-pint over there may not understand your twisted sense of humor."

Listening intently, realization dawned on her face, "Ah, you were jesting then?" She smiled. "I see." Turning her attention back to Castiel she frowned, "I am fine, you can put me down."

The angel shook his head, "I can feel you trembling. Your body is not yet ready for such exertion. If I put you down, you will be lucky to take two steps before falling over. Furthermore, your wrist and ankle are not properly supported; you risk further aggravating the breaks when you teeter about on that…thing." He looked down his nose at the crutch lying abandoned in the dirt.

Dean grinned, eyeing Cass and Aiyla. "Well, girly, you heard Dr. Cass Medicine Angel over there, back upstairs you go."

Her face fell, eyes growing large and sad, "I just hoped to see the sunset…it's been so long since…I ah…" She stopped talking, a haunted, crestfallen look overcast her features.

Sam seemed to take pity on Aiyla, glancing at the horizon and the low hanging sun, "Guys she went to a lot of trouble just to get down here…it's almost sunset anyway, we might as well indulge her."

Dean and Cass seemed ready to protest, but Bobby took Sam's side, "God knows how long she's been locked away for, let her see the damn sunset."

Cass looked at her hopeful face and sighed, "Perhaps a few minutes will not hurt."

Dean glared at Cass, muttering, "Turncoat," under his breath. He snatched up the crutch with a sigh, and wagged his finger at her, "Fine, but you're going to answer a few questions for us while we wait then, Capeesh?"

Aiyla grinned, "I don't know what 'Capeesh' means, but I agree to your terms."

Castiel started walking with her, seeking out a better vantage to which she could watch the sundown. Dean shook his head, a ghost of a smile quirking his lips, "Girl talks like she's read one too many historical romance novels."

Sam looked at Dean as if he'd grown a third eye and then grinned, "Do I even want to know how you know that?"

Dean shrugged, trying and failing to appear mystified, "Shut up Sammy, I don't know what you're talking about." He sauntered after Cass and Aiyla without a backwards glance.

Bobby just shook his head. "I'm surrounded by Idgits."