Voices drifted in and out of Dean's hearing. There was no danger in the rumbles of thunder that interrupted his sleep from time to time, no worry that humans would grab him or take Sam away.

There were so many times during their childhood that they'd feared exactly that happening. Falling asleep in the tiny home under the floorboards was almost impossible when humans were in the room above. Knowing that only a thin surface of wood separated them from giants that could destroy everything made all of them uneasy. There wasn't much they could do about that… all the families in the motel had to deal with the same fears and worries. Sam and Dean just weren't as used to it as the others. Some nights they'd even curl up in Dean's nest of fabric together, hunkering down against the world with only each other for support.

Jacob had changed all that. Though he'd done exactly what they'd been warned against at first… Capturing Dean, trapping him in a coffee pot, of all places. Making Dean worry that it would be filled to the brim with boiling water while he was in it.

It wasn't until Sam's ill-thought out rescue attempt that reality had slapped Jacob in the face, reminding him that they might be small… but they were still people. Two brothers, just trying to look out for each other when everything else was against them.

Ever since that day, they could rely on the teenager. There were a few false starts and backslides, like when he'd gone to grab them off the table, thinking he was helping, or when Dean had tried to wake him up only to end up clutched in a surprised fist with a sleepy Jacob staring back at him in surprise.

He was a part of their team, and because of that, Dean could let his guard down and sleep on the table, out in the open in view of a human.

Sam's softer voice was washed out, Jacob's deeper rumbles taking the fore in Dean's mind. The pain in his mind receded slowly as he began to recover, and he drifted on the edge of wakefulness and sleep.

With Jacob and Sam busy discussing their options at the laptop and Dean snoozing off his headache, none of the three exhausted hunters noticed motion in the room. Towards the ceiling, a flicker of motion in an air vent preceded two folded pieces of paper slipping out. They glided with uncanny grace towards the table, and even Jacob didn't spot them. He was too tired from going in circles and worrying about his friend.

As soon as the small paper gliders reached the table, their shapes changed and folded with the faintest rustling until Jade and Gold stood near the edge. Jade sighed with relief, Gold with exasperation. Their journey had been a long one for such small spirits, but they had a mission to fulfill.

This wasn't their real mission on this side of the veil, but they had agreed upon it in that black bag. Their young translator needed the help of his friends and without assistance, those friends couldn't find him. They had been shown effort and kindness, and they needed to return the same if they wanted to return to their master in good standing.

Jacob and Sam were busy, and the zhi ren hadn't yet been introduced to the truly massive westerner in any case. Instead, they strode to where Dean lay prone, with Gold looking around avidly. Jade stopped and squatted right next to the resting man, her feet flat and her knees bent. To her, the poor dear looked quite spent, but there wasn't time to let him sleep the night away.

She greeted him in a soft voice. "Dean."

The unexpected voice cut directly through the thunderstorm in Dean's dreams like a bolt of lightning. It drove him awake rapidly, the instincts of a hunter combining with the instincts he'd gained after so many years living cursed.

So he startled awake.

Dean sat bolt upright, pushing himself away from the intruders on the table.

At least, until he realized he knew them.

"Jade?! Gold?" Dean exclaimed in shock, finding himself surrounded by two remarkably familiar faces.

The outburst, while only mildly startling Jade, drew Jacob's full attention. Then, he caught sight of the two strangers and sat upright from where he'd leaned on the table. He'd never been this close to those two before, and here they were right on the table with Dean.

Wait ... "How the hell did they get here?" he asked, keeping his voice lower despite his slowly increasing surprise.

Jade stood up again and held her hands out placatingly. She chattered something in apologetic Mandarin, before Gold nudged her with an elbow to remind her of the language barrier. She sighed and turned to offer Dean a hand up.

"Dean," she said, and then a few slow phrases in Mandarin, and she finished with "Qi Shi!"

"Wait, Qi Shi?" Jacob interjected. He drew surprised looks from both Jade and Gold. "That's Chase's name," he added in an even quieter tone. "How did they get away? What's going on?"

Dean let Jade help him to his feet, only stumbling a little when he was upright. The last time he'd pushed his ability, he'd spent over a day confined to bed, and it had been an hour, at most, since he'd lay down on the table. Pinching the bridge of his nose, he tried to concentrate. "They're not people like us," he managed to recall. "That's why they got away so fast earlier. They're spirits."

Sam hopped down from the computer, partially left out of the discussion while he was standing so far away. He strode over towards Dean, intent on watching him while he was standing. He couldn't risk Dean pushing himself. "They're servants of the spirit's ancestor," he explained to Jacob while he walked. "They're here to make sure the spirit gets put back to rest and stops… dishonoring the family name. I think."

Offering a shoulder to Dean, Sam let his older brother lean on him. "Do you know where… Qi Shi is? Who took him?" Sam's brow furrowed. "I have my journal if that helps…" He gestured towards his satchel, left on its own next to the laptop.

Jade frowned faintly, and it looked like she suddenly missed her translator even more. They were right back to the communication barriers they'd had before, but her gaze trailed over to the satchel Sam indicated. Gold muttered something to her, and her eyes widened. Jade seemed to get it, because she put her hands together in front of herself and opened them like a book and nodded.

Jacob almost couldn't snap out of his awe that he was looking at a couple of tiny spirits. The only other tiny spirit he'd dealt with had tried to kill Dean and another little. These two, with their traditional Chinese garb and language barrier, seemed much less harmful. They almost reminded him of tiny Chinese dolls.

"Lemme just," he muttered, reaching carefully towards Sam's satchel. Normally he didn't mess with the brothers' things at all, but with Sam acting as a support for Dean, he didn't want to make them walk back and forth more than they needed to. He pinched the handle in his fingers and lifted it towards the small hunter. "Here."

"Thanks," Sam said gratefully, flashing a grin up at Jacob. He held out his hands, letting Jacob place it carefully in his grasp. With anyone else, Sam might not want them picking up the bag. It was strange to see how tiny it looked pinched between Jacob's fingers, but with Jacob, he didn't mind. He knew better than anyone how careful Jacob could be with those massive fingers.

After all, Dean and Sam had fallen asleep in those hands, and not once did they have to worry.

Naturally, once they woke up and found Jacob almost dozing at the computer, Dean had scolded him, telling him that they needed him at his best. He couldn't stay up all night just because they'd drifted off in his hand. Gentle as always even in exhaustion, Jacob had simply smirked tiredly and set them on his desk before wandering to bed. He proved himself time and time again (even if his exhausted collapse onto his bed had caused a thunderstorm's worth of noise).

Sam dug his journal out while Dean fought to keep his balance. "Here we go," Sam murmured to himself as he found the pages they'd used before. He held it out for Jade, hoping his journal would survive this latest use, but more than willing to give it up to find Chase.

Jade hummed thoughtfully and inched forward. With Sam propping open the book, she could place her fingertips on it just as she had with Dean before, though this time she ignored her intricate and unfinished drawing of the heirloom anchoring the vengeful spirit.

This time, the tiniest ember marks trailed along the delicate paper to recreate the image of the cage they had escaped. A cage that, as far as they knew, still imprisoned Chase. Jade tapped the picture sadly and said something in Mandarin. It didn't take Chase's translating to know what she meant this time. Chase was trapped.

Jacob had to squint and he still couldn't see the little drawing. He didn't dare lean in closer, either, with the way Gold gave him a look. Jacob knew that wary look. He used to receive it a lot more often from Dean.

Jade muttered something else as her drawing continued, etching out an image of Ed's D-SLR, for which she shrugged to indicate she didn't know what it was. It had worried Chase and that was what she hoped to convey.

Gold spoke this time. He stepped forward to point at the image of the cage while he did, before indicating themselves and swiping across the etched in bars to explain their escape. Finally, he made a beckoning motion and then gestured to the tabletop as if indicating a path.

Sam and Dean watched, just as intent as Jacob. The main difference between them being that the brothers could make out the images on the journal as clear as day.

Following along, Sam's eyebrows went up. "So… there's a cage," he surmised, recognizing the image easily. "And a camera…"

"That's not good," Dean interjected. "If they get him on film, everyone could be at risk. Our family could be at risk. And all because we left the motel to hunt."

They shared a look, both taking an equal part in the guilt for that decision. If everyone was in danger, they were to blame.

First, they had a friend to save. Dean pushed himself away from Sam, taking a few halting steps forward. "You know where they are?" he guessed from the gestures. "Jacob can get us there if you two can show us the way. If there's a camera, we can't waste any time."

Jacob watched the two spirits glance at each other and sheepishly try to work out what was said to them. His heart rate quickened a little each second, and before long it truly sank in.

Chase was in a cage, all on his own. They couldn't make him wait any longer than he had to.

He lowered himself again, resting his chin on his arm like before. The two tiny strangers (both of them around a head shorter than Sam or Dean) looked at him curiously, and though Gold still bristled a little, Jacob could tell they had warmed to him, as much as two tiny spirit emissaries could. The drive to help Chase must have overridden the nerves that sent them scampering before.

"Oh boy. My Mandarin is really limited, but ... I'm Qi Shi's ... friend," he stammered out, earning more surprise and a smile from Jade. "I ... help? " He more or less had the right words in there, he knew. Jacob got a feeling that he'd botched some grammar or something, but all the same Jade nodded her head once and smiled at him.

Jacob sat up then, more abruptly than he normally aimed for, and settled a hand palm up on the table for everyone. "Okay, we should get going as soon as we can," he said, galvanized. "We gotta get him back."

"We will," Sam told him confidently. "No matter what. He won't stay caged if it's the last thing we do."

Dean took a few teetering steps on his own, slowly gaining confidence in himself as the pain in his head abated. He aimed himself at the duffel left on the ground, managing to pick it up without sending himself sprawling. It was aggravating how some head pain made him almost useless for hours.

Sam had to give Dean a hand to get onto Jacob's palm without tumbling over, but they both made it in the end. Dean slumped down to sit right in the center of Jacob's palm as soon as they were there.

"Let's go get our pint-sized translator back," Dean declared.

Jacob grinned with relief to have a plan of action, something to do beyond staring at the computer and thinking hopelessly about where his friend might have been taken to. He glanced to the zhi ren, the tiny spirits that could easily have abandoned Chase for their own mission. Spirits had odd rules, many of which Jacob had still yet to figure out completely, and he was glad that these ones could still do something to help.

Jade and Gold muttered to each other before Jade strode with purpose up to his hand. Jacob waited patiently for her to step up, with her companion close behind. It might have been his mind playing tricks on him, but he could swear they were completely weightless. He didn't even feel their tiny silk shoes marching over to his palm with the others.

I can fit four people on my hand, he noticed distractedly as he stood. They probably wouldn't all fit as well in his pocket.

He glanced at the duffel full of weapons and supplies and thought against it; more likely than not this was a couple of misinformed civilians. The extra weapons beyond the Colt he kept tucked away on his person would be too much.

Jacob made his way to the door and listened, trying to hear if anyone was out there. With his hand tucked close to his chest and laden with small, vulnerable passengers, he didn't want to take too many chances. Being too hasty to save one friend could put two more in danger.

Jacob opened the door a crack, enough to see the sparse parking lot at the Impala gleaming in the light from a streetlamp. Empty. He hardly even heard a breeze out there. Even so, he didn't rush outside just yet. "We clear, Sam?"

Sam almost jumped in surprise at the rumbling voice from behind them, but took Jacob's point instantly. There was no one who could know if there was anyone else around so well as Sam, and he would put that to use to find their friend anytime. Just like Dean and his knack.

The main difference being that Sam had no way to turn his ability off while Dean's seemed to kick in whenever or wherever he found himself in need… or convinced himself he needed something. A thought came to Sam that they needed to delve deeper into it if Dean wanted to master that ability.

This time, Sam went so far as to close his eyes to concentrate, not wanting to take any more chances than Jacob did. The only brush across his neck came from a gentle breeze in the outside air. "We're clear," he announced.

Jacob nodded once and refrained from glancing down at them. It would interfere with Sam's ability, and he needed that to be sharp for the short walk to the car. Even so, it was barely seconds later before he took a seat behind the wheel of the Impala and pulled the door closed with a slam.

"Okay, so- Oh, shit!" he began, only to tense up when the zhi ren simply hopped over the side of his hand. Before their eyes, the small Chinese spirits' shapes changed to give them paper wings, and they glided right to the dashboard. Once there, their forms shifted back seamlessly, as if they'd never been any different, just like their disappearing act between the boxes earlier.

"Uh. They have some neat tricks up their sleeves," Jacob pointed out lamely. The zhi ren discussed something in Mandarin, most likely the merits of their perch as a navigation platform, and Jacob finally tore his gaze from them to look down at the remaining passengers on his hand.

"Dean, you feeling up for the shoulder right now, or were you thinking pocket again?"

Dean glanced up, meeting Jacob in the eyes, and couldn't stop a scowl from forming. He already knew the answer to that question.

And he hated it.

"Pocket," Dean said mulishly. There was no way he'd be able to hang onto the collar of Jacob's shirt without falling right over the side, and it would be pointless to have Sam keeping him upright. The headache was getting better… but wasn't gone, and probably wouldn't be for the rest of the day. It was his stupid mistake and he'd be suffering for it.

Sam clapped a hand on Dean's shoulder. "It's only for the ride," he said reassuringly.

Jacob nodded in agreement. "You guys might have to pick a lock or two so you might as well let your eyes rest. Keep 'em sharp," he mused gently. Dean all but emanated annoyance for his weakened state, and Jacob had known him at least long enough to understand why. Dean was a natural leader and he didn't like sitting things out, whatever form that might take.

Jacob shifted his hand to his pocket then. With his free hand, he put the keys in the ignition and let the Impala roar to life in the night, before finally propping the cloth open for Dean. As soon as the brothers sorted out their seating arrangements, Jacob was ready to go find Chase.

Dean didn't have much energy to add to the conversation, so he just slid to the edge of Jacob's hand and dropped into the pocket. They all knew he was more than ready to break into a place if it meant they could save their friend or solve the case. Sam was already climbing his way to Jacob's shoulder as Dean slumped down at the bottom of the warm cloth interior.

Pockets were underrated for traveling in. Dean let his eyes flutter shut in the darker area, listening to the calming thuds of Jacob's heart. At least here, he knew he was always safe.

Sam got himself settled on Jacob's shoulder, perched at the ready. "We're getting him back," he said in determination as the car backed its way out of its spot. Even the Impala growled her assent as Jacob hit the gas.

A/N:

Annnnnd we're back!

Next: August 16th, 2023 at 9PM

Adding in this author's note for all my followers here, and will keep it on all chapters going forward:

If the worst happens and fanfiction shuts down, you can find all my stories on both archive of our own and deviantart, posted under the nightmares06 account. You can also find our story tumblr, which contains a ton of information and answers that are only posted on that site, along with artwork for the stories and future plans we have. That can be found under the brothersapart tumblr account. I can't put links in chapters, but googling "Brothersapart tumblr" should bring it right up!