A/N: Here's a longer chapter as promised. It was difficult to wait a week to publish. I've had this chapter ready to go for a while, but I'm trying to pace myself. I'm currently writing chapter ten and will need to take a break to finish up school. But I have enough to keep publishing for the next month. No worries, I won't blink out on you guys. When I say "Updates Tuesdays", I mean it.
As a side note; I'm not sure how long you can expect this story to run. I've only scraped the surface of where the story needs to go. There's definitely more to come and as I'm writing, the chapters are becoming longer and longer. I think you guys will enjoy it though. I sure enjoy writing it.
Without further ado, read on.
Two strong arms pick Mai up off the couch. They cradle her as she wakes up slightly. She pulls her own arms in and grabs hold of the person's shirt, it smells like Amber and faintly like fresh linen. She nestles her head against the person's chest as they carry her up the steps. It's not a smooth ride, but Mai is still in La La land, all she cares about is getting comfortable enough to fall back asleep. The arms lay her down in a bed and she instantly sprawls out, finding the softest spot to resume her slumber. A blanket is pulled up over her. She grabs hold of a feather pillow, wrapping her arms around it. Resting her head on its coolness, she feels entirely too tired to thank the set of arms that are now running their fingers over her hair. Mai relaxes every muscle in her body and drifts down sleepy time lane.
Her dreams are of Jett, replaying Bobby's house that summer.
The air was hot and thick, the sky was grey, and the garage was uncomfortable and muggy. She was fifteen and had been sent out by Sam against her will. Nothing against Bobby, she loved spending time with Bobby, what upset her was that Sam sent her away for a week. Being there was better than being anywhere near Dean and Sam though, especially Dean. She hoped that they would both be gone by the time she got home. She wanted to be alone for once. She wanted to be alone more than anything this week.
She was tinkering with an old toaster in the garage. She had no clue what she was doing, but she enjoyed taking things apart. Bobby, not so sure on how to entertain a fifteen-year-old girl, gave her a bunch of random appliances to play around with. So far, four days into the trip, she'd torn apart a radio, two ancient TV remotes, half of a toaster, and an alarm clock. The alarm clock had be especially fun since she had climbed onto the roof of the garage and threw it to the ground. Watching it shatter felt good, getting out some pent up aggression felt good.
Bobby never once asked her about the reason Sam sent her out. She figured Sam had already filled him in on everything, but she was glad she didn't have to talk about it. She was glad to be able to smash alarm clocks and eat her meals in silence, and not have Bobby force her to talk to either of her uncles. Bobby seemed to get that she wanted space from them; that or he was just completely clueless on how to deal with a brooding teenage girl. She figured it was probably a combination of both.
One night a set of hunters stop by; an older man, Ned Rhone who was a little older than Bobby, and his grandson. The boy was probably around seventeen, his hair was buzzed short and fuzzy, his clothes were classic hunter garb; straight jeans, army jacket, tee shirt, combat boots. Mai paid little attention to him really. He was quiet, and to her, just another hunter to stop by Bobby's place. The freckled lass, was too caught up in Ned's story about their latest hunt after a nest of vampires. It was a chilling story, full of blood and decapitation. Not the kind of tale she normally cared to listen too, but she enjoyed hearing about the people they had saved. After the story was over the grandson excused himself and slipped out onto the back porch.
"Go join him." Bobby advised. "He's close you your age, I'm sure you two would be able to find something to talk about." She knew he was just trying to get her out of her disgruntled funk. She really wanted to ignore the guy and go throw another clock off the garage roof. He was kinda moody and distant, but then again, so was she. She figured that Bobby hadn't asked much of her all week; she could at least do this. She found the grandson sitting on the steps of the porch, looking out at the salvage yard.
"Hi" Mai said as she took a seat beside him. He looked at her and smirked a little. He wore a pair of aviator sunglasses and Mai couldn't see his eyes.
"Hi"
"Million dollar view right there." She gestured out to the yard, trying to spark a conversation.
"Yep."
"…yep" Mai returned.
"Do you hunt?" he asked her.
"No. My uncles used to."
"Good." If his sunglasses were taken off you would have seen the remote look in his eyes.
"Well… okay then." Mai was lost on how to talk to him. "I already know that hunting hurts everyone around you…"
"You're young and seem innocent; don't get involved in this life."
"I'm fifteen. I'm not young and innocent." She exclaimed a bit offended.
The boy never responded. She was growing tired of philosophical anti-hunter talk. For the rest of their time out there they sat in silence, listening to the crickets chirp and watching the sun start to go down. Then after dark, Ned came out to say goodbye and they left. Mai didn't even say goodbye to the boy, she only smiled at his grandfather.
Sunshine gleams in through the blinds as she wakes up. Her legs are kind of sweaty from sleeping in jeans and the back of her neck is soaked from the flannel and blankets. Her hair feels greasy and messy from throwing her head under her pillows as she slept. Her eyes blink again and again, trying to wake up, but really feeling like she could lay there for another hour or so. She turns her head and looks at the clock. 9:42. Second Period is almost over and she's not at school.
The terror of being this late for school knocks all sleepiness out of her. She rushes downstairs to the kitchen. She has to get her backpack, she has to find a ride, she has to brush her hair, her teeth, is there even time for coffee? Beelining from the steps to the kitchen, her mind is halted by the presence of another. Before her brain can process the foreigner standing in her way she smacks into them and they grab her as she stumbles backward. They hold her close while she gains a proper stance on her legs.
"Woah. Where's the fire?" The man exclaims with a hint of sarcasm.
Mai looks up and sees Sam's face. Looking behind him she sees Dean cooking scrambled eggs at the stove.
"School, I'm late for school." She says with a hint of shock, her face still squished against Sam's arm. He lets her go not before she smells a hint of Amber and linen on his shirt.
So it was Uncle Sammy…?
"I called in this morning and told them you wouldn't be coming" Sam informs her, "'Family emergency'".
Mai steps back and looks at her "family emergency". Sam has started setting out plates at the table and Dean is serving up eggs straight from the pan. They sit down to eat, Sam taking a seat next to the plate-less spot. Dean awkwardly sits at the head of the table and Mai walks over, unenthusiastically taking her chair. She knows exactly what Sam's doing, forcing her to sit next to Dean. For the first time since entering the kitchen, Mai makes eye contact with her older uncle. He returns it and nods stiffly.
"Mai." He says gruffly, looking down again at breakfast.
"Dean" Mai returns. They eat in a silence, out of her peripheral vision she can see Sam's face is a little disappointed.
What did you expect? She mentally asks him. It's only the second time he's been home since he left.
"Did you get my message from last night?" She asks Sam. He trades his disappointed look for one of annoyance.
"No, your uncle dropped my phone into a river a couple days ago." He makes his signature bitch face. "Was it important?" Mai shakes her head in a lie.
"No, I was just curious of where you two were at."
They finish breakfast with Sam telling her about the hunt. Other than the lost phone nothing of importance or excitement really occurred. She and Dean do not communicate with each other the entire meal. The awkward tension in the air is so thick it's almost difficult to breathe.
"How long are you staying?" Mai asks Sam as they wash dishes. Dean retreated to his room immediately after finishing his eggs.
"A couple weeks unless something comes up before then." He dries a plate and places it back in the cupboard. Leaning against the counter, Sam crosses his arms, looking down at his niece. "So… are you going to talk to him?"
Are you freaking serious?
"Sam, don't." is her answer. That doesn't seem to be good enough for him.
"You two are just going to ignore each other for the next couple week?" His voice is stern, but soft. He clearly doesn't want to be overheard by his brother.
"We'll be fine." This is not a conversation she is ready to have. It brings up flustering waves of guilt and anger.
"Mai…" Sam's hazel eyes yield a puppy dog sadness tinted with concern.
"I don't want to do this. Not right now…" She speaks honestly.
It surprises her how straight she's being. Sam starts at a response but he closes his mouth. He instead choices to walk over and give her a hug; one filled with apologies and a relief to be back home. "I'm sorry and I missed you" it says.
The top of her head barely touches his shoulder, reaching more at his chest, but that's what comforts her the most. For the first time, Mai feels like Sam can shelter her from everything. Every monster, every demon, every ghost, every evil thing out there, every bad moment in her life, every stupid fight with Dean. It's a new feeling, and it causes her to choke back a small tear.
They break their embrace and Sam lends a sad half smile. Inside she wishes for another hug, feeling like this one is cut an eternity too short, but she doesn't admit that to herself. Mai just returns his sad smile and leaves to go get dressed in her own clothes.
Sam and Dean only remain at the house for a week before a case pops up, one freaky triple suicide in Boston. The coldness between Mai and Dean remains the same for the duration of their stay. Not once during that time does she mention her encounter with Jett. She tells herself it's not important, but in reality she fears that her uncles will freak out even though she handled the situation. The number one rule is "No strangers in the house". No anyone in the house really, unless the boys sent them there.
So what's the point of bringing up the young hunter? Jett is gone and he isn't coming back.