Chapter 40
"What?" Sam asked in surprise.
"You were right about Lucas. Apsu says he still loves Dean is thankful for what he did for them." She stopped as they joined a group of people waiting to cross the street. After they were alone again, she continued. "But Apsu also sees that Andrea still loves Dean for saving Lucas."
They had been walking through downtown Madison, headed for the lakefront. Sam found them an empty bench, most of the others being occupied by young couples, and they sat down. Amelia scooted very close to Sam and lifted his arm over her shoulder. "What are you doing?" He asked.
"Trying to blend in to our surroundings." She said with a smile and snuggled a little closer into his side. "Now, we look like any other canoodling couple."
"Canoodling, really?" Sam asked chuckling.
"What? It's a perfectly good word, and I like the way it sounds." She replied almost giggling.
Sam relaxed and found canoodling was very comfortable and reassuring. They both just stared at the lake for a minute. "So, what do we do about Mike? We were going to contact him tomorrow?" Sam asked breaking the silence.
"You just couldn't just enjoy the gorgeous night, could you?" She said in mock annoyance.
X
They sat for a few more minutes. Amelia said they could call Mike in the morning, while they were waiting for Lucas and Andrea to be available. The breeze from the lake started to chill and neither of them were very comfortable, so they headed for the hotel. Sam asked if Apsu had said which fluids the mother and son would donate, and how he should ask the Barrs for the fluids.
Their discussion was put on hold as they entered the hotel lobby. Amelia could sense her spell still weakly lingering in the air. Sam saw that Josh and the older clerk were still on duty and pulled Amelia close to his side. He looked down at her and then nuzzled the top of her head. When she looked back up at him, he whispered. "Got to keep up appearances, you're supposed to be my mistress, remember?"
She saw Sam wasn't being affected by the spell but was just trying to tease her. She smiled back at him sweetly as they walked to the bank of elevators. Just as the elevator doors started to close, she reached behind him and grabbed his ass, making him jump. "Appearances," she said with a smug smile when he glared at her.
By the time the elevator doors opened on their floor they were both laughing hysterically. As soon as Sam opened the door to the room, Amelia darted in and called first shower. She quickly closed the door after dodging Sam's attempt to outrace her to the bathroom. Amelia shed her clothes as she waited for the water to get warm.
It had been a really long day; hours in the car, the musty pawnshop, the racetrack. She'd also used her power several times; talking to the horses and giving that owner a taste of his own medicine, the love spell in the lobby. Then, of course, there was all the excitement; not the least being the images she'd seen while Sam was in the bathroom before they had gone to meet a donor. She could still smell his scent in the room. She stepped into the shower and quickly washed the day out of her hair and off her skin; then she turned down the hot and let the cold water cool down her re-blushing body.
Half an hour after she had closed the bathroom door, she was drying off and remembered she hadn't grabbed her sleeping stuff. Amelia opened the door and called to Sam. There was no answer, and she couldn't hear any thoughts. She quickly wrapped a towel around herself and came out of the bathroom, worried about the quiet. She stood there, hair cold and dripping and clutching the towel; and watched Sam snore.
He was sprawled prone over most of the bed. They had gotten a room with only one bed. It would have been impossible to convince the clerk they were here on a tryst if they had asked for two beds. She grabbed the shirt Sam had given her to sleep in and went back to the bathroom to finish drying her hair. When she came back into the room, it occurred to her; she had lived close to a thousand different lifetimes but had never experienced Déjà Vu. She went over and pulled off his shoes and threw the bedspread over his sleeping form, just as she had a week ago.
Amelia sat on the edge of the bed and brushed back some hair from Sam's face. If it was possible, he was even more beautiful without any stress or worry marking his face. She wanted to lift one of his arms, slide under it and snuggle up next to him. Maybe, she could fall asleep thinking he loved her as much she loved him. Instead, she bent down and kissed his forehead; then got up, found the extra blanket and pillow from the closet, turned out the lights and lay down on the sofa.
X
Despite being more comfortable than Missouri's sofa, Amelia didn't sleep very much. Sam was still soundly asleep when she finally gave up; got up and dressed. She made herself a cup of tea and went out onto the balcony to watch the sun start to wake the city. After a few minutes she heard Sam yawn, stretch and get out of bed and head to the bathroom.
"Amelia?" He called as he came back out of the bathroom.
"I'm out here." She called back. She heard him turn on the coffee-maker before joining her on the balcony.
"What happened? I remember you going to take a shower…"
"You must have been exhausted. You were passed out on the bed by the time I got out of the bathroom."
Sam wondered, for just a second, if she had made him pass out; but trusted her more than that. He looked at her closely. "Did you get any sleep? You look horrible."
"Thanks. That's just what every woman wants to hear in the morning." She replied, and then added. "I think it might have been leftover effects of the spell I used in the lobby. Well, that and the fact you seem to be able to sleep at the drop of a hat." She gave him one of her mock glares as she walked past him into the room.
"Sorry." He said as he followed her inside and went over to collect his cup of coffee. As he was taking his first sip of coffee, he noticed the blanket and pillow on the sofa. Dean was always commenting on how he took up a whole bed when he slept, he could imagine the sight he had made when Amelia came out of the bathroom. "Sorry." He said again.
"Don't be, it was a lovely sight." She said, and winked at him. "Just couldn't find a section big enough to join you."
"Would you stop reading..." He stopped what he was going to say, and thought 'Oh, who am I kidding.' He turned and started gathering his shave kit and clean clothes. "Let me grab a quick shower, then I'll buy you breakfast to make it up to you."
X
Sam kept his promise, and was in and out of the bathroom in 15 minutes. They headed to the hotel's continental breakfast; which was much nicer than the last one they had tried. Even though there were very few other guests, they didn't discuss their plans; which made for a quiet and awkward meal. After eating, both eagerly headed back to the room, and the freedom it provided to talk.
Sam asked again about the fluids the Barrs would be giving. "So, maybe you still need me to translate after all?" Amelia asked teasing Sam again about his thought last night. She shared what Apsu had told her after meeting the mother and son. Lucas would be asked to share bile, and Andrea spit.
"Do I want to know why?" Sam asked, only half joking.
"I don't know if you want to know, but you need to understand the choices." Amelia said, mostly seriously. "Lucas was unable to talk and was having the visions because he had been swallowed up by seeing the evil of the vengeful spirit in the lake. With you and your brother's help, he digested and expelled the evil that had consumed him. Bile represents that digestion."
"And Andrea?" Sam asked seriously.
"As I mentioned, spit, or phlegm, represents the lungs and breathing. You two saved her, and her son, from drowning, you kept them breathing."
They sat quietly for a while, Sam finally broke the silence. "Okay then."
Lucas' appointment would keep him and his mother unavailable for a couple more hours; so they decided it was time to call Mike. Sam dialed the motel's number; it rang a long time before a boy's voice came on the line. Sam took a chance. "Asher?"
"Yeah. Who's this?" Mike's little brother asked.
"I'm a friend… Well, no, I knew Mike a few years ago; we worked on a, uh, project, together. I was trying to find him." Sam got out clumsily.
There was a very long pause, and then Asher's voice got very quiet when he asked, "Is this Dean, or Sam?"
Sam looked at Amelia, who was listening in, as usual. She looked very worried but nodded her head, indicating he was talking to Asher and he was human. She reached up and put her hand over the phone. "Sam. It is Mike's brother, but this boy is distraught. Something is very wrong."
"It's Sam, Sam Winchester." Sam could also hear the turmoil in his voice. "Asher, how do you know our names?"
"Mike told me everything two years ago before he left for college."
"Asher, can I talk to Mike?" When he didn't respond, Sam asked. "Asher, what's wrong?"
Amelia gasped, and then shook her head, from where she was listening next to Sam.
Asher's voice crackling, he finally answered, "No. He died two days ago."