Barely an hour later, Chase and Jacob were downstairs, talking in conspiratorial voices despite the appearance of an empty house. Keen eyes and ears could be just on the other side of any wall, for all they knew. "This is a pretty last-minute plan, Jake," Chase pointed out. "I'm kinda surprised."

"I think you're just wishing you thought of it first." Jacob zipped a backpack closed, one that he'd had Chase run some errands to fill.

"Think they see this coming?"

"Doubt it. I didn't even see it coming 'til you popped back to your real size so easily."

Chase carried the backpack while Jacob led the way upstairs. Jacob didn't bother trying to hide his footsteps. He walked lighter like he had learned after several stern warnings from Dean about the earthquakes he caused, but even so his footfalls shook the floor and announced his return long before he came back to the room. Hopefully, it concealed Chase's approach enough to hide what he had planned.

Once back in his room, the two humans paused by the dresser. Jacob picked up the hexbag carefully, and made sure he and Chase could both put pressure on it. Just like he expected, they shrank down together, hexbag, backpack, and all. The hexbag was swiftly stowed in a hard glasses case to keep one of them from nudging it again when they didn't want to. Finally, Jacob brandished a flashlight and the next step of the plan was underway.

Things stopped going so smoothly for them once they'd crawled through the entrance into the walls. Even the flashlight Jacob brought was weak in comparison to the deep darkness that formed the passage to Sam and Dean's home. He led the way on cautious steps, peering around, but every time one of the cautious humans' shoes swept along the ground, they kicked up dust with a gravely scraping sound.

Chase sneezed and Jacob turned back to look at him, aiming the flashlight at him. "Dude, seriously?"

A foot away from where Chase and Jacob were bumbling around in the walls, Dean was lying in his new nest, eyes shut peacefully.

After a successful conclusion to a case, both brothers had retired for the day. Normally they might consider taking advantage of the empty house, but the latest close calls had left them with less motivation to leave their safe corner.

Neither brother could shake the impression that Chase's capture had been their fault. Sam for freezing up at the advent of the new humans, and Dean for his single-minded focus at getting Sam out of there. He didn't want to risk another run-in like with Bobby, and so they'd both assumed Chase and the zhi ren were following right behind.

They were hard thoughts to shake, and kept Dean up.

On the other side of the makeshift wall, Sam was scratching away in his journal, writing what they knew about the zhi ren. They might be the only hunters in America to ever encounter the paper spirits and be able to talk to them, so their insight would be invaluable. Sam was driven to record it all.

At the sound of a distant sneeze, far softer than Jacob should sound, Dean sat bolt upright. "Sam, did you hear that?" he called, his voice only just loud enough to carry to his brother.

"Hear what?"

Dean pulled himself to his feet. "I coulda sworn…" He paced out of their divided room, going straight to the sealed-off door to push aside the wooden block. "Wait here, just in case." He ignored Sam's protest as he left their sanctuary behind.

His confusion only grew as he wandered down the passage, spotting a flashing light that darted around. It almost brought to mind a will-o-wisp dancing in the dark, at least until Dean realized what it was. "What the…" Dean had to throw up his arm to save his eyes, but he saw enough in the brief flash. "Dude! What the hell!"

Jacob hastily lowered the light to the floor at his feet and squinted towards Dean. He simply wasn't adapted enough to the dark to see more than the faintest silhouette with his light turned away, but if he aimed the light at Dean, he could very well blind him. Sam and Dean both had grown up in low light like this and they'd adapted.

"Sorry, Dean," Jacob whispered. Even with such small chances he'd be heard, he kept his voice at a minimum.

Chase edged up next to Jacob, his hands on the strap of his backpack. His eyes were wide in the dark, but he wasn't faring much better. "Heya, Dean. We were going to come and visit but Jacob got us lost walking in a straight line."

Jacob glared at him. "At what point did we seem lost?"

Dean let out a world-weary sigh. What are we supposed to do with you two? lurked on the tip of his tongue, but chose a different path.

"Look," he said with a sigh. "If you just let us know you wanted to visit, we could come out and get ya. No fumbling around in the dark with a… is that a flashlight?" He peered intently at the strange object in Jacob's hand, completely thrown by seeing something so mundanely ordinary… at the same size. Just like Chase's inhaler, it stood out to Dean like a beacon of his old life. "Damn if that doesn't look normal."

He tried to shake that off and went over to the others. "C'mon, gotta get you two outta the open. Sam must think we're under attack by a pack of rats by now."

Jacob grinned. "Can't have that," he replied. Since they had Dean leading the way, he kept the flashlight aimed downwards, illuminating no more than Dean's sturdy leather boots. They were similar to Jacob's in design, and yet the differences between them were more noticeable here. Jacob's were store-bought, and Dean's were hand-cobbled. Rough around the edges, just like Dean, but more than able to stand up against the wear.

Their steps were more sure with someone leading them. Chase and Jacob didn't walk so hesitantly as Dean brought them back to the house, and as soon as Jacob heard the door sliding open again, he shut off the flashlight with a click. Compared to the pitch black outside, the small beams of light allowed into the cozy home were more than enough to see by. Little slits cut into his walls served the brothers as illumination, cleverly disguised in the wallpaper.

Jacob handed the flashlight to Chase so he could shove his hands in his hoodie pocket. "So, uh," he began, before a sheepish chuckle cut him off. "I know it's a surprise, but with the hexbag working so well, seemed like a visit was due."

Sam came around the corner to the main room, hearing more than just Dean's voice out there. His eyes widened when he saw what was happening. Both of the humans had shrunk down to see them this time, not just Chase or just Jacob, and they stood facing the older hunter.

"Surprise?!" he sputtered, the tips of his ears growing slightly red at the unexpected company. "We didn't even know it would work on more than one person at a time! And… and I thought you wouldn't want to come back down so soon, not after what happened…" Sam trailed off, forcing himself to meet Chase's gaze.

Chase waved a dismissive hand. "Hey, this is still pretty cool, getting to chill and all. It's not like it's your fault those guys were assholes, right?" he said, his cheshire grin overtaking his face. He glanced down at the flashlight in his hand before inching to the brothers' makeshift table to set it down. "Besides, we barely got to celebrate our win and this is like my first real case. So if all you tall people aren't too tired of lugging yourselves around all day yet, why not?"

Jacob rolled his eyes, but he had a smile of his own on his face. Chase knew how to get himself hyped up over just about anything. "He's not far off," Jacob said. His hand closed securely around the object he'd kept in his hoodie pocket, and he slowly drew it out into the sparse light. It was pointed downward, and the elegant engravings were like vines climbing upwards as Jacob held out a Colt MK IV to Dean.

"Can't believe I didn't think of this sooner, but Dean ... this is yours. Always has been. Thanks for letting me borrow it."

If Chase calling Sam and Dean 'tall' didn't throw Dean off of any scolding remarks he had in mind, Jacob's motion certainly did.

Mouth hanging open in shock, Dean found himself reaching for the gun by instinct. The dim light glinted off the engravings, winking back at him as though it knew. The last time Dean had seen those engravings, he'd cleaned inside them himself. His small hands were made to reach into places that Jacob didn't have a hope of touching with his pinkie.

Now, Dean's hand curled around the gun the way it belonged, and it felt right.

For the first time in his life, Dean was rendered speechless as he held the gun close, brushing a hand over the intricate metal of the barrel. More intricate than anything else their size. He blinked, finding tears hiding in the corner of his eyes as Jacob returned a part of their lives to them they'd long since given up for lost.

Right on cue, Chase let the backpack slide from one shoulder so he could loop it around in front of himself and set it on the table. His smile returned, but it was softer in light of the somber moment, and he unzipped the bag. He rummaged through the unseen items at the top before drawing one of them out: a book, plainly bound and thick with evenly-cut pages.

Jacob chuckled and shrugged. "Sam, I can't usually actually see how much is left in your journal," he admitted. The book, on their usual scales, was too small for Jacob to tell with ease how many pages were left. "But, uh. Can't hurt to have a spare anyway, right?" Chase held the brand new journal out towards Sam.

Sam took the book, in just as much shock as Dean as his hand closed over the professionally bound journal. He couldn't stop himself from opening it up and letting the pages slip through his fingers, lightweight and thin just like the books he used as a kid. Not thick, with pages that weren't completely even and made for display in a dollhouse; to be looked at, not used.

Wrapping his arms around the new book, Sam held it close. He thought about his old journal. How the pages were crowded with words around the edges, fit in all the margins. The way it was smudged because a lead pencil tip wasn't the cleanest way to write, regardless of how fine of a point he sharpened it to. That drop of red paint in the middle, done when Dean was proudly guarding their home and Jacob's room against the demons.

And also how few pages were left in it now.

Sam blinked away his own tears. "This… this is too much guys. How are we supposed to be able to repay you for this?"

Chase grinned up at him. "Dude, gifts aren't meant to be paid back. Besides, you guys saved my ass. If it wasn't for you, I'd be a YouTube star right now."

Jacob nodded. "I wouldn't have really known what to do without you guys keeping me steady," he admitted. Despite his usually chill demeanor, Jacob knew he had nearly fretted himself into trouble with Chase missing. Taken. Without Sam and Dean, his best friend could have been hurt while Jacob tried to figure things out.

"Besides," Jacob continued, stepping over to the table to reach into the bag. "This bag of goodies isn't even empty yet, and this," he drew out another book, this one much more worn than the other, "is actually more rightfully yours anyway." Jacob held up the journal of John Winchester, waving it a little with a grin. "So long as you don't hold out on me if it has dirt I need on whatever case comes our way, fair?"

"I guess this means the gold bar worked," Dean said thickly, his eyes lighting up at the sight of the worn journal in Jacob's hands. He'd forgotten about that gold Chase had tucked into his pocket during the fiasco with the hexbag. Dean's voice was coarse and uncertain, and his hand shook when he reached out for his father's journal.

Jacob handed it over and Dean found himself holding his old Colt and the journal they'd inherited from their missing father for the first time in over fourteen years. Both items should be bigger than his entire body, heavier than he or Sam could budge on their own.

"I think we can manage some kind of deal with the journal," Dean said, his eyes lighting up at the thought of being able to really read it. Without needing Sam's help on the other side just to turn a damn page. Trying that on their own usually ended with the page just falling back over them. "If you bring some ammo for this down here." He waved his Colt in the air before tucking it in his pants. For so long, the huge world around them had felt wrong, but this… It was all beginning to feel right again.

Sam plucked the journal right out of Dean's hand when he wasn't paying attention, grinning hugely. "Or they can just come down for a visit to read it," he said, a relieved laugh escaping him.

Chase nodded. "That, too. That hexbag opened up a few doors, I think," he reasoned. Already, he envisioned improving his skills and getting better at being under three and a half inches tall. Learning more about what it took. He'd been added to the team, and he hoped to live up to it.

"We also grabbed some dishes and stuff, to use in your house," Jacob added, nudging the backpack. "I'm supposed to be a good host here."

Chase shook his head in a mock lament. "Jacob, you barbarian, taking so long to think of these things," he teased. Jacob shoved him lightly and Chase swayed, before reaching into the bag one last time.

"I saved the best for last," he announced, grinning at Dean. "I think I remember you deciding I owe you a debt." The last item drawn out of the bag and showcased was a round tin container with a clear plastic lid. Inside was a full pie from the diner in town, freshly made the very same day. "I think this covers it, right?"

Dean practically snatched the pie out of Chase's hands, his eyes wide at the sight. It was a pie, perfectly proportioned and sized for him. No thick crust to get through, no giant chunks of apple that were delicious but messy to try and tackle. It was…

"...This is perfect," Dean found himself uttering. "I think you're more than covered. I know I talk a lot about being able to eat an entire pie, but this…" He trailed off, shaking his head in amazement. "We never thought we'd see the day."

Reverently, Dean put the pie down on the makeshift table in their makeshift home. They'd have plates again. Utensils made for their size. They wouldn't need to eat off of aluminum foil plates all the time.

He had his gun back, and Sam had a new journal. Suddenly, the future was a lot brighter for them. Because of Chase and Jacob, they'd found a way around their size. Around all their sizes.

Dean could feel his voice choking up again, and knew he only had a few seconds before it gave out on him. Slapping a hand on Jacob's back and nearly tossing the teen off balance, and an arm around Chase's shoulders, Dean found himself giving the two humans they'd trusted with their lives a hug. Sam joined in seconds later, his new journal still clutched to his chest along with their father's.

"Welcome to the family, guys."

FIN

A/N:

And the second season of the Brothers Lost story has reached its end!

Things are changing for the better for Sam and Dean, thanks to the friends they've made along the way. We'll be seeing plenty more of Jacob and Chase both in the future as they try and help the Winchesters deal with their curse and all its trappings.

The next story to post will be from Brothers Apart, Squeaklock Holmes. There will be a hiatus before it posts, so expect to see an update on the date it starts in november or december. Writing has slowed down a bit, so posting will slow down with it, but we still have so many stories to tell!

bNext story: /bThe Brothers Lost crew will be returning in the future in the story, Wayward Sons!

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!