Thanks so much for all the kind, eager reviews. Sorry updates are sporadic. Real life is a real annoyance sometimes! The pace starts to pick up again in this chappie and I hope you continue to enjoy. Let me know - as you know, reviews are like chocolate!
It was a dangerous move. Not only had he pulled Dean from his beer and pool and dragged him out into the snow, he was now explaining the line and assurances he had fed to a stranger. He had been happy with the notion right up until he had seen the anger and dread on his big brother's flushed face.
Dean stared at Sam in bewildered, somewhat furious silence.
"Say something." Sam pleaded warily.
Dean closed his eyes and sat down heavily on the end of his bed. He shook his head slowly and rested his hands on his knees.
Sam groaned and turned away, heading across to the small kitchenette to pour them both a mug of coffee. He stirred the steaming drinks in quiet contemplation and took a deep breath before returning to join his brother.
"This is not clever." Dean offered suddenly, his voice quiet. He reached out to take the coffee he was offered and yawned wearily. "We're kinda trapped here, Sammy … and - "
"And what?" Sam demanded incredulously, "I told a small white lie to reassure a heavily pregnant mom. Yeah. I can see why that'd be dangerous."
"She could phone just about anyone with that information, dude! We're supposed to be lying low."
"Yeah. Cos that's worked so well for us this far."
"Sam …" Dean sipped at his much needed caffeine and wiped a hand across his face. Stifling another yawn, he shook his head and sighed softly. "Fine … what did she tell you?"
Sam repeated the story Lena had given him and watched Dean's reaction, torn between needing his brother's assistance and also not wanting any further disapproval. He put down his drink and crossed to the small table, collecting his laptop. "It fits pattern." Sam concluded carefully.
Dean nodded in thought and frowned as he stared into what remained of his coffee. "So … she's bait?"
"No!" Sam protested in annoyance, shooting a glare at his brother and collecting his notes and equipment into his bag.
"It sounds like she's bait." Dean persisted, draining his cup and standing quickly. He crossed to the kitchenette and poured himself a refill.
Sam shook his head in earnest. "It followed her here. It'll be in the area. Now is our chance. Okay?"
"And you know this how?"
"It's a guess, Dean." Sam groaned, his shoulders heavy as he turned to look at Dean. "Okay?"
"Okay." Dean put down his mug and grabbed his coat.
"What?" Sam asked suspiciously, watching his brother head to the door.
"What? Your guesses are better than most people's assurances." Dean smiled warmly, "Let's go, professor."
Sam could not hide the grin of delight that pulled at his mouth and nodded eagerly as he hurried after Dean. They stepped out into the snow and Sam knocked gently on the door to the adjoining room.
Lena unlocked the door and gave a thin smile of greeting. She stepped back to let them enter and then hurried across to the bed.
Sam paused inside the room and watched as Lena hugged her daughter against her and tried to soothe her tears.
"It's okay, baby." Lena whispered softly, placing a kiss on the top of Morgans head and rocking her gently. She looked across at Sam and gave a small shrug. "She's scared."
"Sure." Sam acknowledged quietly.
"We-left-him-be-hind!" Morgan protested between sobs, clutching at her mother's jumper.
"Oh, he'll be okay. We'll go get him in the morning." Lena offered softly.
"No! I-want-him-now!" Morgan wailed, hiccuping on continued sobs.
"Who?" Sam asked in interest, stepping towards the bed.
Lena was aware of her daughter looking over at Sam and felt Morgan tensing in apprehension. "It's okay, baby. This is Sam and his brother Dean. They're here to help us."
"Can-they-go-get-him?" Morgan asked quietly.
"Who?" Sam repeated, frowning in concern.
"Mis-ter-Pick-les." Morgan replied, chancing turning her face further from the protection of her mother's dark jumper.
Lena saw the confusion on Sam's face and laughed softly. "Mr Pickles is her bear. We left him in the car."
"We-need-to-get-him!"
"Oh, it's okay, baby." Lena soothed, shaking her head in apology towards Sam.
"Mr Pickles, huh?" Dean offered, stepping past Sam and crouching down beside the bed. "Cool name."
Morgan sniffed and nodded slightly. "Daddy called him that."
Sam saw the pain that flashed across Lena's face and frowned in concern.
"You know," Dean continued softly, "Sammy had a bear, once." He pointed to his brother and grinned mischievously, "He might not look it but, when he was your age, he was a little girl too."
"Hey!" Sam protested.
Morgan giggled quietly. "He had -" She sniffed back further tears, "He had a Mr Pickles?"
Dean laughed and gave his brother a quick 'take one for the team' smile. "No. His bear was called 'Doo-Doo'."
Morgan laughed in delight and leaned back from her mother. "Doo-Doo?" She echoed merrily, glancing up at Sam.
"Dean. It was Scooby-Doo." Sam corrected with a sigh.
"Yeah, but you were like three," Dean countered, his smile growing, "And it sounded like Doo-Doo."
"Dude!"
"No. Doo-Doo."
Morgan squealed in excitement and watched eagerly as the two strangers bickered.
"Guys." Lena interrupted the verbal volleying and grinned up at them. "And I'm supposed to believe you're our knights in shining armor?"
"Absolutely." Dean assured, edging a little closer and giving Morgan's small arm a friendly nudge. "We're the Scooby Gang, right?"
"Dean." Sam warned, sighing in dismay. "They don't have Scooby any more - "
"Sure they do." Lena countered merrily.
"Yeah!" Dean agreed eagerly, "Just cos you started reading science journals doesn't mean kids TV stopped." He winked at Morgan. "My brother's a total geek." Dean watched Morgan laughing in delight and his smile grew. "He can be Velma."
"Dude!" Sam cautioned.
"Or like he's so totally Shaggy." Lena joined in, grinning cheekily.
Morgan bounced up and down with excitement and slowly turned herself round to face Dean. "Can me be Daffy?"
"Daphne?" Dean confirmed with a smile, "Oh absolutely, honey. You're one hot babe."
Clapping her hands, Morgan laughed in delight. "And Mommy?"
Lena laughed and shook her head. "Oh, Mommy's staying out of this one." She sighed and nodded a quiet 'thank you' to Dean. "Now … Mommy needs to talk to Sam and Dean, so - "
"No!" Morgan whined, her weariness letting tears make a quick return.
"Hey, I know, Morgan.' Dean interjected quickly, "Let's go get a midnight Scooby-snack."
"Yeah!" Morgan squealed.
Dean laughed and stood slowly. He saw the hesitation in Lena's body language and smiled down at her. Reaching into his back pocket, he grabbed his leather bound ID and held it out to her.
Lena peered at the FBI badge and nodded slightly. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean ... it's just - "
"No need to explain." Dean assured softly, pocketing the ID and holding out his hand towards Morgan. "And I promise, Mommy, no sugar-high." Glancing at Sam, he laughed merrily, "Like I said, I had a little brother."
Sam caught the remark and scowled up at Dean from the files he had opened on his laptop. He then noted Morgan climbing eagerly down from Lena's lap and watched as she grabbed Dean's hand.
"We'll be fine," Dean assured quietly, smiling back at Lena. "We're only next door."
"I know." Lena smiled, "Thanks."
Sam watched in interest as his brother guided Morgan across the room, stooping to place his hands on the small girl's shoulders and steer her towards the partition door. Dean chatted softly to Morgan, debating appropriate roles for the adults to play in the fantasy world she was excited to still be creating.
Dean opened the partition door and glanced back, catching his brother's wistful smile. He nodded quickly in reassurance and gently nudged Morgan through to their adjoining room.
Swallowing back the sudden lump in his throat, unsure where the unexpected emotion had come from, Sam took a deep breath and returned to his notes.
ooooo
He could not help the amusing notion that crept into his thoughts as he relaxed back on the bed and slipped one arm behind his head. Beside him a beautiful girl snuggled in close to his warmth and snored softly and he smiled as he realized that had she been twenty years older, he would have been nowhere near as pleased with how quickly she had fallen asleep.
Two cookies, a glass of milk and five minutes of cartoons were all that had been needed. Morgan had been so excited with the whole adventure of going next door that she had soon exhausted herself. Dean had found a channel playing late night cartoon reruns and she had happily sat next to him, eager to explain all that she knew about the characters on the screen. A few scenes into the episode and she had caved, falling asleep sitting upright until Dean had gently laid her down on Sam's bed.
He had wrapped her in Sam's blankets and then began to return to his own bed, startled as she'd sleepily grabbed his hand and held on tight. Unsure at first, he had then sat down beside her and held his breath as she had wriggled up against him and sighed happily.
Morgan stirred briefly, her small body shivering and she groaned quietly. Dean pulled the blankets further up over her and tucked them in around her. He watched her face wrinkling as she dreamed and could sense that she was troubled. An instinct gained from years of watching over his brother while he slept made him reach down and he gently stroked his fingers across the side of her face.
The reassurance worked and Morgan was once again still, her soft snores sounding like contented purring. Dean smiled happily and turned his attention back to the cartoons.
A gentle knocking on the partially open partition door made him jump slightly and he checked Morgan was undisturbed as he called out to the visitor to enter.
Lena stepped into the room and smiled in greeting. She saw her daughter snuggled up happily and her smile grew. "You should know she never talks to strangers. It's a big compliment."
Dean nodded in understanding. "She's just great." He glanced down at the small form beside him. "I won't let anything happen to her. I promise."
Lena's face was tight with emotion. "I know." She watched Morgan sleeping and idly stroked her large abdomen.
"When's it due?"
"Four weeks." Lena replied, sighing softly. "Give or take. You can never be sure."
Suddenly caught by a sudden memory of sitting on his mother's lap and poking at her pregnant tummy, tears stung Dean's eyes.
"Sam and I are going to head out to my car." Lena offered, pulling on her thick winter coat and only just managing to zip it closed around her belly.
Happy for the distraction, Dean smiled and then suddenly frowned. "In this weather?"
Lena nodded, "I've got some stuff I need. We kinda left in a hurry and … well … I can collect Mr Pickles, too."
"Sure." Dean heard noise from behind her and watched Sam hurry into the room.
"It's not far." Lena explained.
Dean watched Sam nodding in eager agreement and then saw his brother suddenly catch sight of Morgan. The delight and pride that crossed Sam's face were somehow unexpected and Dean's chest began to ache.
"I've got my cell." Sam offered, pulling on his jacket and gloves.
Dean nodded and then, seeing Lena wander from the room, called out to Sam quietly.
"What?" Sam frowned, crossing the room quickly.
"Be careful." Dean whispered.
"Of course." Sam smiled, frowning at the same time.
"No, I'm serious. She's packing."
"What?" Sam gasped, resisting the urge to glance behind him at Lena and seeing the concern on his brother's face. "You sure? And I thought it was a baby she was carrying."
Dean sighed loudly, "Sam …"
"Okay, okay." Sam nodded and then suddenly smiled merrily. "Good job it's me, then."
"Huh?"
"You'd be toast." Sam grinned, "Pregnant female with cub in tow."
"Oh please." Dean snorted, "Even I know when to keep a safe distance."
"Sure." Sam buttoned his coat and his grin almost split his face. "Is it nice up there on planet delusion?"
"Fu - " Dean stopped himself quickly and cringed with regret as he glanced down at Morgan's sleeping form. By the time he looked back up, Sam was scrambling through the door and his chuckles following after him.
Dean relaxed back against the pillows and yawned wearily, his eyes becoming heavy as he watched the cartoons that continued to dance brightly across the TV screen.
ooooo
At first he had no idea when or for how long he had drifted off but he awoke with a start, his heart thudding against his chest. It only took a second or so for him to get his bearings and check the clock; twenty minutes had passed since Sam and Lena had left.
Then the sense that something was very wrong brought him completely alert, adrenaline flooding through him as he jumped to his feet. He crossed to his bed and grabbed the knife that rested beneath his pillow. His fingers gripping the handle tightly, Dean scanned the room and held his breath. It was then that he looked down at the rumpled blankets on Sam's bed and saw that Morgan was no longer snuggled up amid them.
"Ring around the rosie."
Dean gasped and edged towards the bed. Peering over the foot end he saw her sitting cross legged on the floor, rocking gently.
"A pocket full of posey."
"Morgan?" Dean husked, clearing his throat. "Morgan, honey?"
Morgan seemed unaware of him, arranging their leftover cookies in a perfect circle on the brown carpet. "Ashes ashes." She continued, humming the melody happily.
"Morgan?" Dean urged, moving closer to her. "Where is she?"
Morgan stopped rocking suddenly and lifted her head to look at Dean. "All fall down." She concluded, blinking heavily and her eyes turning the darkest black.
- tbc -