44 Blueberry Hill, Friday Night

[beenthroughthat]

Okay, so the grocery run hadn't exactly gone as planned. But he was fine, other than being a little sore and bruised up, and well, okay, with a couple of nice long cuts across his chest that were really starting to sting.

But he definitely couldn't deny that . . . well, it had been funAs Sam let himself back into the house, he really, really

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[sleepswthdemons]

The odds were not in his favor tonight.

"Anders! What happened?!"

[beenthroughthat]

Oh, crap.

"Nothing?" Sam ventured, turning slightly as he wrapped an arm around his chest. This would be so much easier if he had bags of groceries to hide behind . . .

[sleepswthdemons]

The guys were never going to learn you can't lie to an empath, were they?

"You're bleeding!"

[beenthroughthat]

And his right arm had a huge bruise on it beneath the shirt, but he wasn't mentioning that yet.

"It's just a couple of scratches," Sam said quickly, and he wasn't really lying about that. "Nothing to worry about, babe, I swear."

Although there was the gash on his cheek, too, that he'd forgotten about . . .

[sleepswthdemons]

Phoebe wasn't willing to readily believe that -- as guessed by the way her face went pale. "What happened? Who do I have to kill for trying to take you away from us again?"

She touched his face.

[beenthroughthat]

Sam turned his head quickly and kissed her fingertips. "Just some weird creatures out in the alley," he said. "Threw a trashcan lid at me, and then . . . well, I might've baited them to come after me."

[sleepswthdemons]

That didn't make her feel any better.

"Demons?"

She'd go after them. Cole needed them both whole and safe and no one was going to take any of them from each other again.

She wasn't aware that she had started shaking a little.

"Baited them how?"

[beenthroughthat]

"I --" Sam sighed, and wrapped his arm around her, wincing a little when it aggravated the rapidly forming bruise there. "Okay, look. They charged me, and I could have run, but . . . well, it seemed like a good way to work off some steam."

[sleepswthdemons]

"Anders I can't lose you again, and especially not to demons. They've taken to much from me." she said softly. "Cole can't lose either of us. He would break if something happened to you." She swallowed. "You know I'd spar with you..."

[beenthroughthat]

"But I'd hold back," Sam said, wincing again when the cuts across his ribs stung. "Anyway, I just would've rather they picked on me than some kid who might not have got off so easy. You've rubbed off on me, you know."

[sleepswthdemons]

And she couldn't argue with that.

She pulled him over to the sink and started wetting a towel with warm water.

"Take of the shirt so I can clean you up," she murmured. "And why would you hold back?"

[beenthroughthat]

Sam hesitated -- if he took the shirt off, she'd see the bruise on his arm.

"Because I'd never forgive myself if I hurt you," he said as if it was obvious, very gingerly pulling the shirt up, but not pulling it over his head. "Even if it was in practice."

[sleepswthdemons]

"I fight demons for a living, sweetheart," she reminded him. Without looking up, she pointed. "Off, completely."

Hi, empath.

[beenthroughthat]

"Demons, not your boyfriend," Sam replied, by way of stalling. "And by the way, I'm not exactly a fan of them hurting you either."

Knowing the more he stalled the more he'd get yelled at for hiding the injury -- never mind how many times he'd used the same lecture on her in the past -- he gave a resigned sigh and, swearing under his breath when his arm twinged, pulled the shirt all the way over his head.

[sleepswthdemons]

This would be why she went out patrolling and looking for fights...

She looked up and her eyes widened.

"I'm going to kill someone."

[beenthroughthat]

"It's okay, babe," Sam said quickly. "It's just a bruise. I'll be fine."