This was just what I needed. A little walk to clear my head. Besides, the demon blood was finally kicking in. I felt fantastic and not like killing a man, so I guess we can count that as a win. Where were we again? All of these days blur together. Sioux Falls! That's right. Home sweet home. Why the hell would I want to come here? Isn't that a bit neon sign for you, Lena? It's not like the boys know I'm here anyway, but still.
And I didn't want them dead. That was just a bad dream. I love my brothers dearly. Even though there's a bit of a rift between us right now (and when I talked to Dean, I think he could've killed me on the spot), but I still didn't want them dead. Everything's going to be fine. Although, I am curious if an exorcism would work on me. I'm not possessed. Technically speaking anyway. Just juiced up on demon blood. I'll have to ask Crowley about that when he gets back from whatever his other dealings were. I thought he was above crossroad deals these days. Doesn't he hire that kind of thing out?
After being away for so long, I forgot how much I loved aimlessly wandering the streets of Sioux Falls. It truly is centering. This was my happy place. As long as I don't get caught by local law enforcement, I'll be golden. Not that any of their cells could hold me. Not the way I am now. I could punch a hole through a brick wall like it was nothing. A few of the bigger cops at the Sioux Falls police department wouldn't be able to do squat.
"Excuse me!" a voice from the corner boomed. A very familiar voice that was attached to a man in a dark suit. One that put an instant knot in my stomach. As my gut reaction, I bolted in the opposite direction. Nope! Not today! Dammit! What the hell are they doing here?
Thud!
"Hey, now…" I hit a solid wall of giant man that I knew damn well was his partner, "We just wanted to ask you a few questions."
"Let me go!" I writhed in his warm, comforting arms. In the name of self-preservation, I've also developed a British accent (Don't look at me like that. It's fun making fun of Crowley behind his back.). Under any other circumstances, I'd love to be wrapped up in my brother's arms. I was fighting back tears all I could. Given that it's currently against my will and the wound of my dream is still fresh, this wasn't nearly as pleasant.
"Why'd you run on us?" Dean asked, looking me over. He had that look in his eye. The one I didn't need him having. He's seen me somewhere, but he couldn't place me.
"Wouldn't you if you were me?" I shook Sam off me, "A cute girl like me walking by herself? Especially when she's being chased by a couple of middle aged men? Nothing about this looks good for you, mate."
"Sorry," Sam flipped his fake FBI badge on me, "But it's a matter of national security."
Doesn't look like they realize who I am. This sounds promising, "Alright. What do you need to know?"
"We're looking for a girl," Dean took over, pulling a picture up on his phone, "Dark hair, green eyes. She was last seen with a guy older than her."
As of right now, that sounded a lot like me. Although, the girl in the picture wasn't me for a change. Awesome, "No. Sorry. I haven't. Why are they so important that you two had to rough up an innocent girl?"
"They're both very dangerous," Sam pulled out a card, "If you hear anything out of the ordinary, please give us a call."
"Sure." In a million years. I turned around and took off for the hotel. Even though those two were in town, color me intrigued. I wanted in on whatever monster brought them here.
Later in the day as I twiddled my thumbs in bed with a bag of blood in my mouth, I was giving consideration to a nap. But I knew damn well I wouldn't be able to sleep. I opened up my laptop and checked local newspapers online for anything out of the ordinary. Everything was checking out. Not even a missing persons report. This must be one of those things that the bureau wanted to sweep under the rug.
"Honey, I'm home," Crowley came in while I was buried in research, "They weren't joking when they said your generation was constantly glued to a screen, were they?"
"I'm sorry," I rolled my eyes, shutting my laptop, "Hi, pookie. I missed you. How was your day?"
"Never call me pookie again," he cringed. Success, "But same old, same old. Playing informant gets exhausting. What about you? Tell me you got out and about today."
"I did," I nodded, "Ran into my brothers."
"Did you?" Crowley froze, "Are you alright?"
"Yeah," I brushed him off, "I'm fine. Any idea what would bring them to town?"
"There's a few vampires getting restless," he filled me in, "They've kidnapped one of the local girls and they're using her as a feeding bag."
"Kind of like me with you?" I teased.
"In a more extreme sense," Crowley grumbled, "I'm looking for another demon to fill that position."
"It won't be the same," I pouted, "Blood from a low level demon or blood from the King of Hell…Decisions, decisions."
"It'll be enough for you to keep out of withdrawals," he argued, "Anyway, why do you care about some vamp feeding bag?"
"She's still an innocent girl," I winced, "Sue me if I'm being empathetic here."
"So," Crowley wondered, "Are we working this case?"
"I'm going to need a legal guardian to enroll me," I pointed out, "Besides, I could kick vamp ass like a machine when I wasn't hopped up on demon blood. Imagine what I can do now!"
"Enroll you where?"
"This girl can't be much older than me," I figured, staring at the picture on my computer screen, "If she's being held against her will as a food source for some rowdy vamps, I guarantee you they want her to continue her normal day to day life. I'll need you to fill out some paperwork."
"Hold on," Crowley had a sadistic, little smirk on his face, "Does this mean I have to pose as your father?"
"Legal guardian," I reiterated, "Don't let it go to your head."
"Don't take that tone of voice with me, young lady," he scolded, "Now, do you have any more blood pouches or do you want Daddy to bleed for you again?"
Crowley wasn't going to let up about him being my temporary dad, was he? Might as well play into it. Keeping him happy means keeping him in my pocket. And there's nothing wrong with having that chess piece on the board. I laid my head on his shoulder and gave him some serious puppy eyes, "I'm all out. Please, Daddy? Will you bleed for me?"
"Absolutely, sweetheart," he kissed my forehead, "I need to get more bags."
"Just use the empty ones," I suggested.
"But that's so unsanitary," Crowley cringed, "It's only a quick trip to the hospital, dear. I won't be long."
"Ok," I sighed out, "I guess I'll be waiting. I could go get my enrollment papers."
"Why don't you stay here?" he insisted, "I can get it while I'm out. If Sam and Dean are here, I'm sure you're a secondhand look while they're taking care of this. You need to be careful."
"Ok," I pouted, "What am I supposed to do then?"
"Just stay here," Crowley lifted my chin up, "Ok?"
"Ok," I smiled, "I'll be waiting."
Almost in thin air, Crowley disappeared and headed to the hospital. I had a demon bleeding for me. I have a bunch of vampires to kick the crap out of. It's going to be a good day! The only suck part is that I have to go back to school, but it's only a temporary thing. I can go there, screw around, and save an innocent girl that doesn't deserve to be vampire food. Save an innocent, kick ass. Life is good. And somehow, Sam and Dean still haven't found me! Awesome!
"Well," Crowley popped back in, "You have school in the morning. I have enough blood for you to last about a couple days, if you ration it."
"I have to ration it?" I whined, "Fine."
"You'll be fine," he assured, "You wouldn't want actual people food, would you?"
"I ordered room service earlier," I told him, "I'm good."
"What did you have?"
"Macaroni and cheese."
"I guess I can't complain," Crowley groaned, "But you should eat a little better. You can't just live on demon blood forever."
"It's worked for me so far."
"Lena," he really was letting this whole dad thing go to his head. Crowley sat at the edge of my bed, holding my hand, "Please. Take better care of yourself. And get some sleep. How about a little more blood fresh from the tap before you go to bed?"
"Ok," I wasn't going to turn that down. I watched as he ran a blade down the palm of his hand. Mmm…It's warm to my belly. Like having a cup of tea before I fall asleep. It even made me a little tired. Weird. Usually, it's a power trip, but this was nice, too.
"That's my girl," Crowley settled me, taking his hand away, "That should help with your nightmares, too. Now, go to sleep, ok?"
"Ok," I curled into my bed and shut my eyes.
The next morning, I woke up to Crowley looking at cat videos on my computer. He could be looking for the girl. Instead, he's more concerned about the kitty chasing the laser. Unbelievable. I hardly pulled myself out of bed and threw my ass in the shower. Hot water. Hot water will make me feel a little less like crap. I wonder if demon blood would work like coffee. Because I needed something to wake my ass up. I got school in an hour and I'm not looking forward to it.
"Good morning, sweetheart," Crowley greeted me when I came out of the bathroom, "Care for some breakfast?"
"What kind of breakfast?" Like I had to ask.
"Your favorite," he gave me a full bag of blood. Yum…
"Fantastic!" I popped the seal on it and drank it down, "I'll be done at three."
"What?" Crowley gave me a look, "I can't bring you to school?"
"I'm a big girl," I promised, "I think I can get myself to school."
"It's your first day," he whined, "Let me see you off."
Was he going to be this big of a pain in my ass? This wasn't going away. Might as well. I grabbed my bag (making sure my lunch and my smokes were in it) and headed to Sioux Falls High School. Joy. I could smell the mediocrity from a mile away. Remember, Lena. You have a mission. Find the girl and become best friends. Crowley and I pulled up to the front entrance and watched as all the others went inside.
"Alright," Crowley gave me my schedule and my student ID, "Your name from here on out as far as they're concerned is Charlotte MacLoud."
"I'm Irish?"
"Scottish," he corrected me, "Now, Charlotte, go in there and make Daddy proud. I'll see you after school."
"Sniff around town," I ordered, "See if you can find the nest. And if at all possible, avoid the boys please."
"I'll try," Crowley kissed the top of my head, "I love you, princess. Go make some friends."
Yep. Taking this all the way to the bank, "I love you, too, Daddy."
I got out of my car and all eyes on were on me. Of course they were. The new kid was always under a microscope. Well…Here goes nothing.
A/N: I'm so sorry this is up so late. Writing's been kind of hard for me lately. I don't understand why, but it has been. But is it weird that I'm kind of loving the whole idea of Crowley becoming Lena's surrogate father figure? It's strangely cute. He worries about her and he even gave her his last name. I think that's cute as hell. And to make things even more difficult, THE BOYS ARE IN TOWN! You can't tell me that won't complicate things. Or maybe it really won't. We'll see next week, won't we? And now, I'm going to go to sleep. My head hurts, my tum hurts, and I need to go sleepy. Good night. See you next chapter! xx