Just You and Me
Title: Just You and Me
Rating: PG
Prompt: Comfort Item
Word Count: 2696
Fandom: Supernatural/Original
Summary: In the fall of 1997, John Winchester purchased a bear for a very special baby girl; Heather Kittridge. The bear would be a constant in her life.
Notes: This is part of the Requiem for Snow universe.
To John Winchester, the bear was just dark brown, although the actual color of 'mahogany' was listed right on the tag. It was a rather sad looking thing without its stuffing, but it would be plump and cuddly soon enough. He had turned the bear over in his hands several times, debating between it and a rabbit, which was pink. But the more he looked at it, the pink bunny became more and more sinister; bringing to mind the elephants from Dumbo and antacid medication.
So the bear won.
He carried it over to the stuffing machine where a girl who was far too old to be wearing pigtails with bows and braces with purple and red accents hands him a plastic green heart and tells him to kiss it, a stupid notion to give the plush animal the ability to love, or to carry his love to the recipient. Her name tag reads 'Mandy.' Rather than tell the girl he's never heard anything so stupid in his life, he does as asked and while she's not looking, he sticks a hex bag into the bear's insides, along with the heart.
The bag he made last night that will repel witches, demons and other monsters.
There's an infant that needs protection.
Once the bear is filled with fluff or whatever it is they put inside these things, he looks nothing short of perfect, so he lets Mandy talk him into adding a scarf that she says is a copy of the Fourth Doctor's, whoever that is. John just nods and refuses the hat. One the bear is ready and he's paid with one of his fake credit cards, he keeps his face perfectly calm as he strides through the shopping mall. He wears a look of 'yes, I'm a middle aged man carrying a box from the Build-A-Bear workshop, I will kill you if you say anything.' Although he doesn't miss the few winsome looks he gets from some little girls as he passes.
Back in the Impala, he sets the box in the front seat, not noticing when the receipt falls out of his pocket and under his seat. (Dean will find it in four months and John will lie about its origins.)
But that night he'll go to sleep thinking of a baby girl with blond hair using the bear for a pillow as she naps on the floor of her living room.
*
Heather Kittridge, aged three and a half, sat curled up next to her dad, hugging her bear for all she was worth while outside, the wind howls with fury, the loud thunks of hail hitting things, and she worries for her mommy.
Mommy was at work and while Daddy said she was safe, Heather would rather have her here.
She squeezes her animal tighter, closing her eyes, hoping she won't hear the siren soon. If the siren went off, it was really, really bad.
There's no siren, and the hail sounds like giant popcorn kernels, pounding against the deck. She whimpered and pressed her face against her daddy.
“We're fine, Heather, we're safe.” Daddy murmurs, rubbing her back and hugging her. “It'll be over soon.”
Soon is one of those rotten time things that keeps changing how long it is. Heather knows that. Soon could mean five minutes, soon could mean tomorrow, it could mean this weekend. “Still scared, daddy.”
“I know, pumpkin.” He gave her a smile and set down the small black weather radio. “Why don't we sing something to help keep our mind off the storm?”
She grinned up at him. “Sing what?”
“Something happy.” Daddy paused before beginning. “He's got the whole world, in His hands...”
“He's got the whole world in His hands!” Heather echoed, clapping her own hands together.
Daddy beamed. “He's got the whole world in His hands!” He clapped as well, his voice an echoing baritone, just like that man who sang at church (Daddy was a better singer than that man, but Daddy was too busy to sing in front of everyone at church.)
“He's got the whole world in His hands!” She threw up her arms, not even noticing the echo of thunder when she did.
By the time they finished their song, the storm had died down to nothing but lashing rain and shortly afterward, Heather fell asleep. She woke up the next morning, tucked safely in bed with her bear, the sky scrubbed to a clear shade of blue. Rising up on her knees, she could see out the window where Daddy was sawing up a fallen tree limb.
*
“He's going to be just fine.” Sarah reassured a teary-faced Heather as she patiently washed Bear's face with wash cloth, her eyes showing more anger than the rest of her face. “It's just a little mud.”
“Alex is a creep.” Heather slunk down in the kitchen chair, watching her mom. “Why is he so mean?”
Mom shook her head. “Alex doesn't know any better.”
“Alex is my age. He is always reminding me that he's older than I am. I know better than to wreck something that doesn't belong to me.” She was trying not to think about her cousin taking Bear right out of her arms and throwing him into the mud - and then kicking it a few times for good measure.
Sarah sighed. “I don't know why Alex is like that, sweetie. He's just...” She set down the cloth. “Heather, I know you're only six, but I'm afraid that you're going to run into a lot of people like Alex in your life. People who make themselves feel better by treating other people like dirt, or even worse. The best you can do is not to be like them, and to pray for them.”
“The Golden Rule says to treat others as you want to be treated. I know that means you're supposed to be nice to people, but people who act mean and then what you to be nice to them... I don't understand.” She slumped down in her chair. “I don't like Alex. Even if he is my cousin.”
Her mother snickered. “You're not required to like everyone, Heather. Just try to be nice to everyone. That's all any of us can do - is try...” She held up a hand. “Yoda spent almost all of his nine-hundred years of life in the Jedi Order. He doesn't understand a family dynamic any better than I understand astrophysics.” She picked up the cloth again.
“What's astrophysics?” She asked, sitting up a little straighter so she could watch her mom work. “I know that astro... that's space, right?”
“Right. Astrophysics is the physics of space. Physics is...” She paused, lowering her hands and gave her daughter a slightly confused look. “Come to think of it, I'm not entirely sure what that science is all about, other than it involved a lot of math.”
“I like math.” Heather grinned. “It makes more sense than phonics sometimes.”
“Phonics is only difficult because we speak English.” Sarah went back to work. “Did you know that it's one of the hardest languages to learn?”
She shook her head. “Why?”
“Because many words have more than one meaning, or are spelled alike but said differently. You'll learn that soon as well.” She turned Bear over, looking for any more mud.
“You mean like duck?” Heather asked.
“Exactly.” She set the cloth down. “I think Bear is ready to go on the drying wrack. Why don't you go hang him up?”
“Okay.” She took her slightly damp bear from her mom and went into the laundry room, hanging Bear by his feet with clothespins. Heather sighed and brushed his nose before heading back into the kitchen.
*
Heather walked quietly up the stairs, keeping her emotions in check until she reached her room and shut the door. She didn't know if she should be angry or overjoyed. She dropped her backpack onto the floor and picked up Bear. “We're moving.” She cast a glance around her bedroom, still painted pink with the swan border that had been there since she was a baby. “We're moving.” she said again, knowing that it was rather pointless talking to an inanimate object, but it helped clear her emotions somewhat.
She set Bear down on her desk and pulled her Road Atlas out. “I don't even know what part of Indiana Jasper is in.” She flipped through the pages and stopped at her home state after checking the index. “Here is is...” She frowned at the distance. Jasper was at least two and a half hours away. She folded her arms and gave Bear a sideways look, before shooting a glance to her beta fish, Stitch. “I have a bad feeling about this.”
*
When Stitch doesn't live more than a week after they move to Jasper, Heather buries her pet in the backyard. Mom was allergic to dogs, Dad was allergic to cats. The fish had been two years old; and after burying the tiny creature in a box that originally held Jell-O mix, she doesn't know how she feels. Death is nothing new to her; but it was a fish. Fish didn't live that long - but at the same time, Stitch was her pet and well, she'd saved her allowance for two months to purchase him, the bowl and all the necessities he would need.
She sat down in her room after the burial, holding Bear and frowning.
She's more angry than upset.
She just doesn't know why.
*
When she goes to the sleepover at Molly Babcock's house, Heather leaves Bear at home. Thirteen year old girls shouldn't be carrying teddy bears on overnights. She wagers she shouldn't even still be sleeping with the thing, but somehow, for some reason, Bear makes her feel safe. So Bear stays and when, after Mr. Babcock went insane and killed Molly and Lila and almost killed her - she realizes that Bear might have been lost to an evidence bag had he come along.
Leaving Bear at home had saved him.
*
“Another new room.” Heather held Bear in her hands, looking around at the small bedroom in Mister Singer's house. It didn't even have a closet and it probably wasn't supposed to be a bedroom in the first place. Then again, this house is old and maybe none of the rooms have closets. Sitting down on the bed and wincing at the groan of bed-springs under her weight, she closes her eyes and presses her face into the top of Bear's head.
“I want to go home.”
*
Home is gone.
Mom and Dad are gone.
She was only supposed to stay in South Dakota for a few weeks, maybe several months.
Heather had never thought the word devastated could be inadequate to describe misery.
It's just her and Bear now, because Dean and Sam... they're okay, but she doesn't know them very well. Mister Singer's not that bad, he's close to Dad's age, but he's not Dad. At least he won't try to be like Dad. She'll just be helpful to Mister Singer and keep her nose clean.
Mom and Dad had raised her to be polite, to be courteous, to be considerate.
Heather knew how to mind her manners and behave.
“I'm declaring a temporary boycott on being on my best behavior, Bear. Just until Christmas.” She leaned back against the wall, glowering at her reflection. “If these guys even celebrate it.”
*
The wind sounds evil and the sound of the siren is almost lost in the storm.
Uncle Bobby holds the weather radio, frowning at crackling voice that sounds as distant as the moon. He taps his fingers against the desk, and Heather doesn't miss the slight tremble to his movements. She's fifteen now and she knows that he's getting old. It's a tiny tremor, but it speaks volumes. She adjusts how she's sitting, gives Bear a slight squeeze and glaces up towards the ceiling of the panic room.
“How big did they say the hail was?”
“Baseball sized.” He grunts, setting the radio down. “We're going to have a lot of work to do in the morning, kiddo.”
“I don't mind.” She shrugs, not really bothered by the idea of having to find the worst of the damage and get it ready for the scrap yard. “It could be worse.”
“Still the optimist.” The grizzled hunter gave her a small smile. “How old is that bear anyway?”
“Fourteen years, I think.” She shrugged. “He's been reassigned to shelf sitting from now on. At least until I go to college.”
He chuckled. “Bear's going with you then?”
“Of course.” She smirked. “And if my roommate says anything about it, I'll...” She made a face. “I don't know what I'll do, but I'll do something.”
“Tell her the truth.” He deadpanned. “If nothing else, it'll shut her up.”
“Knowing my luck, I'll have some brainless idiot for a roomie who got into college because her family has a ton of money and influence.” She paused. “On the plus side, that means she'll be going through sorority rush and will leave me alone.”
“Not going to be doing rush yourself?” Bobby set the radio down.
“Why would I need to try and join a cult of Dionysus? The guy's my uncle. Or was... well...” She frowned. “He's my uncle but he's dead so...”
Bobby frowned. “Dionysus is dead?” He pulled a notebook to him. “Didn't know that. Your brother or your mom tell you that?”
“Morpheus did.” Heather sighed. “It was a long time ago... well, sort of... two hundred and sixty years. Odin killed him - he was protecting Eir.”
“I knew she was dead.” He set his pen down. “What the hell went on in that Norse Pantheon, do you know?”
Heather shook her head. “No idea.” She pursed her lips. “I know who we could ask, though...” She grinned as she hugged Bear.
*
Heather stood in the shade of one of the sheds in the salvage yard, patiently extracting rocks, splinters and other debris from the small army of plush animals that she had found littering the property, as well as some that were found in the fields in area around them. She was going to clean and mend each one and then post its picture on the internet, hoping that she could help the animals find their way back home. Somewhere, some kids had lost practically everything and she just wanted to help them get a piece back. If there were any animals left at the end of the year, she'd... well, she'd find all these creatures new homes.
Even if all she did was go down to a homeless shelter and ask if she could donate them.
“And how far did you travel, little whale?” Heather picked up the black and white animal, turning him over in her hands. “It must have been quite the journey.” She looked at the tear on his fin. “We'll get you mended good as new and then we're going to find your home.” She turned the orca towards her, giving it a cursory look. “Just don't tell me you sailed all the way here from Sea World in Texas.” She laughed. “But if you did, that's certainly a record.”
*
The whale turns out to belong to a little girl who lives all the way in Woonsocket, one hundred miles away.
*
Heather set Bear down on the top bunk of the dorm room, grinning. “We made it, all the way to Austin and moved in, all on our own.” Her smile faltered slightly. “Just you and me.”
Rating: PG
Prompt: Comfort Item
Word Count: 2696
Fandom: Supernatural/Original
Summary: In the fall of 1997, John Winchester purchased a bear for a very special baby girl; Heather Kittridge. The bear would be a constant in her life.
Notes: This is part of the Requiem for Snow universe.
To John Winchester, the bear was just dark brown, although the actual color of 'mahogany' was listed right on the tag. It was a rather sad looking thing without its stuffing, but it would be plump and cuddly soon enough. He had turned the bear over in his hands several times, debating between it and a rabbit, which was pink. But the more he looked at it, the pink bunny became more and more sinister; bringing to mind the elephants from Dumbo and antacid medication.
So the bear won.
He carried it over to the stuffing machine where a girl who was far too old to be wearing pigtails with bows and braces with purple and red accents hands him a plastic green heart and tells him to kiss it, a stupid notion to give the plush animal the ability to love, or to carry his love to the recipient. Her name tag reads 'Mandy.' Rather than tell the girl he's never heard anything so stupid in his life, he does as asked and while she's not looking, he sticks a hex bag into the bear's insides, along with the heart.
The bag he made last night that will repel witches, demons and other monsters.
There's an infant that needs protection.
Once the bear is filled with fluff or whatever it is they put inside these things, he looks nothing short of perfect, so he lets Mandy talk him into adding a scarf that she says is a copy of the Fourth Doctor's, whoever that is. John just nods and refuses the hat. One the bear is ready and he's paid with one of his fake credit cards, he keeps his face perfectly calm as he strides through the shopping mall. He wears a look of 'yes, I'm a middle aged man carrying a box from the Build-A-Bear workshop, I will kill you if you say anything.' Although he doesn't miss the few winsome looks he gets from some little girls as he passes.
Back in the Impala, he sets the box in the front seat, not noticing when the receipt falls out of his pocket and under his seat. (Dean will find it in four months and John will lie about its origins.)
But that night he'll go to sleep thinking of a baby girl with blond hair using the bear for a pillow as she naps on the floor of her living room.
*
Heather Kittridge, aged three and a half, sat curled up next to her dad, hugging her bear for all she was worth while outside, the wind howls with fury, the loud thunks of hail hitting things, and she worries for her mommy.
Mommy was at work and while Daddy said she was safe, Heather would rather have her here.
She squeezes her animal tighter, closing her eyes, hoping she won't hear the siren soon. If the siren went off, it was really, really bad.
There's no siren, and the hail sounds like giant popcorn kernels, pounding against the deck. She whimpered and pressed her face against her daddy.
“We're fine, Heather, we're safe.” Daddy murmurs, rubbing her back and hugging her. “It'll be over soon.”
Soon is one of those rotten time things that keeps changing how long it is. Heather knows that. Soon could mean five minutes, soon could mean tomorrow, it could mean this weekend. “Still scared, daddy.”
“I know, pumpkin.” He gave her a smile and set down the small black weather radio. “Why don't we sing something to help keep our mind off the storm?”
She grinned up at him. “Sing what?”
“Something happy.” Daddy paused before beginning. “He's got the whole world, in His hands...”
“He's got the whole world in His hands!” Heather echoed, clapping her own hands together.
Daddy beamed. “He's got the whole world in His hands!” He clapped as well, his voice an echoing baritone, just like that man who sang at church (Daddy was a better singer than that man, but Daddy was too busy to sing in front of everyone at church.)
“He's got the whole world in His hands!” She threw up her arms, not even noticing the echo of thunder when she did.
By the time they finished their song, the storm had died down to nothing but lashing rain and shortly afterward, Heather fell asleep. She woke up the next morning, tucked safely in bed with her bear, the sky scrubbed to a clear shade of blue. Rising up on her knees, she could see out the window where Daddy was sawing up a fallen tree limb.
*
“He's going to be just fine.” Sarah reassured a teary-faced Heather as she patiently washed Bear's face with wash cloth, her eyes showing more anger than the rest of her face. “It's just a little mud.”
“Alex is a creep.” Heather slunk down in the kitchen chair, watching her mom. “Why is he so mean?”
Mom shook her head. “Alex doesn't know any better.”
“Alex is my age. He is always reminding me that he's older than I am. I know better than to wreck something that doesn't belong to me.” She was trying not to think about her cousin taking Bear right out of her arms and throwing him into the mud - and then kicking it a few times for good measure.
Sarah sighed. “I don't know why Alex is like that, sweetie. He's just...” She set down the cloth. “Heather, I know you're only six, but I'm afraid that you're going to run into a lot of people like Alex in your life. People who make themselves feel better by treating other people like dirt, or even worse. The best you can do is not to be like them, and to pray for them.”
“The Golden Rule says to treat others as you want to be treated. I know that means you're supposed to be nice to people, but people who act mean and then what you to be nice to them... I don't understand.” She slumped down in her chair. “I don't like Alex. Even if he is my cousin.”
Her mother snickered. “You're not required to like everyone, Heather. Just try to be nice to everyone. That's all any of us can do - is try...” She held up a hand. “Yoda spent almost all of his nine-hundred years of life in the Jedi Order. He doesn't understand a family dynamic any better than I understand astrophysics.” She picked up the cloth again.
“What's astrophysics?” She asked, sitting up a little straighter so she could watch her mom work. “I know that astro... that's space, right?”
“Right. Astrophysics is the physics of space. Physics is...” She paused, lowering her hands and gave her daughter a slightly confused look. “Come to think of it, I'm not entirely sure what that science is all about, other than it involved a lot of math.”
“I like math.” Heather grinned. “It makes more sense than phonics sometimes.”
“Phonics is only difficult because we speak English.” Sarah went back to work. “Did you know that it's one of the hardest languages to learn?”
She shook her head. “Why?”
“Because many words have more than one meaning, or are spelled alike but said differently. You'll learn that soon as well.” She turned Bear over, looking for any more mud.
“You mean like duck?” Heather asked.
“Exactly.” She set the cloth down. “I think Bear is ready to go on the drying wrack. Why don't you go hang him up?”
“Okay.” She took her slightly damp bear from her mom and went into the laundry room, hanging Bear by his feet with clothespins. Heather sighed and brushed his nose before heading back into the kitchen.
*
Heather walked quietly up the stairs, keeping her emotions in check until she reached her room and shut the door. She didn't know if she should be angry or overjoyed. She dropped her backpack onto the floor and picked up Bear. “We're moving.” She cast a glance around her bedroom, still painted pink with the swan border that had been there since she was a baby. “We're moving.” she said again, knowing that it was rather pointless talking to an inanimate object, but it helped clear her emotions somewhat.
She set Bear down on her desk and pulled her Road Atlas out. “I don't even know what part of Indiana Jasper is in.” She flipped through the pages and stopped at her home state after checking the index. “Here is is...” She frowned at the distance. Jasper was at least two and a half hours away. She folded her arms and gave Bear a sideways look, before shooting a glance to her beta fish, Stitch. “I have a bad feeling about this.”
*
When Stitch doesn't live more than a week after they move to Jasper, Heather buries her pet in the backyard. Mom was allergic to dogs, Dad was allergic to cats. The fish had been two years old; and after burying the tiny creature in a box that originally held Jell-O mix, she doesn't know how she feels. Death is nothing new to her; but it was a fish. Fish didn't live that long - but at the same time, Stitch was her pet and well, she'd saved her allowance for two months to purchase him, the bowl and all the necessities he would need.
She sat down in her room after the burial, holding Bear and frowning.
She's more angry than upset.
She just doesn't know why.
*
When she goes to the sleepover at Molly Babcock's house, Heather leaves Bear at home. Thirteen year old girls shouldn't be carrying teddy bears on overnights. She wagers she shouldn't even still be sleeping with the thing, but somehow, for some reason, Bear makes her feel safe. So Bear stays and when, after Mr. Babcock went insane and killed Molly and Lila and almost killed her - she realizes that Bear might have been lost to an evidence bag had he come along.
Leaving Bear at home had saved him.
*
“Another new room.” Heather held Bear in her hands, looking around at the small bedroom in Mister Singer's house. It didn't even have a closet and it probably wasn't supposed to be a bedroom in the first place. Then again, this house is old and maybe none of the rooms have closets. Sitting down on the bed and wincing at the groan of bed-springs under her weight, she closes her eyes and presses her face into the top of Bear's head.
“I want to go home.”
*
Home is gone.
Mom and Dad are gone.
She was only supposed to stay in South Dakota for a few weeks, maybe several months.
Heather had never thought the word devastated could be inadequate to describe misery.
It's just her and Bear now, because Dean and Sam... they're okay, but she doesn't know them very well. Mister Singer's not that bad, he's close to Dad's age, but he's not Dad. At least he won't try to be like Dad. She'll just be helpful to Mister Singer and keep her nose clean.
Mom and Dad had raised her to be polite, to be courteous, to be considerate.
Heather knew how to mind her manners and behave.
“I'm declaring a temporary boycott on being on my best behavior, Bear. Just until Christmas.” She leaned back against the wall, glowering at her reflection. “If these guys even celebrate it.”
*
The wind sounds evil and the sound of the siren is almost lost in the storm.
Uncle Bobby holds the weather radio, frowning at crackling voice that sounds as distant as the moon. He taps his fingers against the desk, and Heather doesn't miss the slight tremble to his movements. She's fifteen now and she knows that he's getting old. It's a tiny tremor, but it speaks volumes. She adjusts how she's sitting, gives Bear a slight squeeze and glaces up towards the ceiling of the panic room.
“How big did they say the hail was?”
“Baseball sized.” He grunts, setting the radio down. “We're going to have a lot of work to do in the morning, kiddo.”
“I don't mind.” She shrugs, not really bothered by the idea of having to find the worst of the damage and get it ready for the scrap yard. “It could be worse.”
“Still the optimist.” The grizzled hunter gave her a small smile. “How old is that bear anyway?”
“Fourteen years, I think.” She shrugged. “He's been reassigned to shelf sitting from now on. At least until I go to college.”
He chuckled. “Bear's going with you then?”
“Of course.” She smirked. “And if my roommate says anything about it, I'll...” She made a face. “I don't know what I'll do, but I'll do something.”
“Tell her the truth.” He deadpanned. “If nothing else, it'll shut her up.”
“Knowing my luck, I'll have some brainless idiot for a roomie who got into college because her family has a ton of money and influence.” She paused. “On the plus side, that means she'll be going through sorority rush and will leave me alone.”
“Not going to be doing rush yourself?” Bobby set the radio down.
“Why would I need to try and join a cult of Dionysus? The guy's my uncle. Or was... well...” She frowned. “He's my uncle but he's dead so...”
Bobby frowned. “Dionysus is dead?” He pulled a notebook to him. “Didn't know that. Your brother or your mom tell you that?”
“Morpheus did.” Heather sighed. “It was a long time ago... well, sort of... two hundred and sixty years. Odin killed him - he was protecting Eir.”
“I knew she was dead.” He set his pen down. “What the hell went on in that Norse Pantheon, do you know?”
Heather shook her head. “No idea.” She pursed her lips. “I know who we could ask, though...” She grinned as she hugged Bear.
*
Heather stood in the shade of one of the sheds in the salvage yard, patiently extracting rocks, splinters and other debris from the small army of plush animals that she had found littering the property, as well as some that were found in the fields in area around them. She was going to clean and mend each one and then post its picture on the internet, hoping that she could help the animals find their way back home. Somewhere, some kids had lost practically everything and she just wanted to help them get a piece back. If there were any animals left at the end of the year, she'd... well, she'd find all these creatures new homes.
Even if all she did was go down to a homeless shelter and ask if she could donate them.
“And how far did you travel, little whale?” Heather picked up the black and white animal, turning him over in her hands. “It must have been quite the journey.” She looked at the tear on his fin. “We'll get you mended good as new and then we're going to find your home.” She turned the orca towards her, giving it a cursory look. “Just don't tell me you sailed all the way here from Sea World in Texas.” She laughed. “But if you did, that's certainly a record.”
*
The whale turns out to belong to a little girl who lives all the way in Woonsocket, one hundred miles away.
*
Heather set Bear down on the top bunk of the dorm room, grinning. “We made it, all the way to Austin and moved in, all on our own.” Her smile faltered slightly. “Just you and me.”