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Title: Time is Tight Part One: What Lies Behind 6/9
Author: Mich
Rating: PG-13 - R for violence
Genre: AU, gen
Spoilers: up through episode 1.20 Dead Man's Blood
Summary: From John's POV. In the midst of the hunt for the Colt, John Winchester has to decide how far to trust Delphinar's daughter now that the yellow-eyed demon is in his sights.
6
Sam wasn’t budging. There was a time when John still had the height and power to overpower his younger son in both senses of the word, but they were clearly past that point. Sam was taller now, still slender but slowly gaining muscle, and he was confident enough to stand up to his father. Dean was doing his best to try to defuse the situation but tempers on both sides had flared way beyond that point.
And still no sign of the neromancer. She hadn’t gotten out of the car that he’d seen, and she had stayed clear of the clash of wills. If he was lucky she’d stay clear.
He just couldn’t understand why Sam didn’t get it. He thought that maybe time away at college would have matured him a little, give him some perspective and some understanding that would mean the end of the angsty teenage bullshit, that he’d finally get just why his father didn’t have the time to stop and explain every decision that he made, every order he gave, that he couldn’t afford to, and that there were some things that were just none of Sam’s damn business. Dean got it; why couldn’t he?
Or maybe Sam just needed to get it out of his system. It was possible, but of all the horrible times for him to dig his heels in . . . and the fact just made him angrier. Sam was the one who left, and now he was back and wanting to call the shots?
Over his dead body.
He and Sam were toe to toe, nearly bumping chests as they tried to shout each other down. Dean was trying to get between them when he suddenly stepped aside, making room for something much larger that grabbed John and Sam and forced them apart. He knew what it was as soon as he felt the huge fingers with their clawed tips fist his shirt and jacket with what must have been enormous gentleness on her part to avoid tearing into his flesh, but it was still a shock how much power there was in her hands. He might have been able to ignore Dean, but this was a wall of fur and flesh and muscle that he wouldn’t be able to fight around.
“I think that’s enough,” she said to Sam, her voice that deeper, more resonant version of the one that fit into her smaller human form.
“She’s right, Sam,” John said.
That huge head swung around to face him, her lip curled back just enough to show her fangs. “I mean BOTH of you,” she rumbled, the vibration running through him. “There are more important things to worry about right now than your dick-swinging contest. Now stow it, or deal with me.”
Dean snorted. “You heard the lady. Put the rulers away and zip it.”
In the face of such an inexorable force, he had no choice but to back down. He looked up at Jayme, meeting her gaze, which contained more than a hint of warning and a lot of determination. He turned and headed back to his truck, a realization slowly creeping over him.
Delphinar had gotten her way in the end after all.
They were close. Very close. But it was night and darkness was not the right time to make a move. There was no time to find a motel, so they pulled their cars off the road and well into the woods to wait the few hours until dawn.
Everything was still for a while, then Jayme got out of the car. She came over to the truck, waiting until he rolled down the window. “Over your little snit back there?”
“Is Sam?”
“Of course not. I didn’t expect him to be.”
“Look, Jayme-”
“I know what you’re going to say. Save it. It IS my business now. I’m part of this whole thing whether you like it or not. You’re stuck with me. And you know what? I’m through being shy about it. You wanna fight with Sam or Dean? You go right ahead, but not now. You of all people should know that going into this without focus can get someone killed. And I will NOT allow that to happen.”
“You’re sure of that.”
She braced her hands on the door ledge. “I would even go through you if I had to. But they love you more than you can imagine, and that means I won’t. Ever. But don’t pretend for an instant that I feel the same way.”
“That a threat?”
She stepped back. “You tell me. You can take that any way you want.” She headed back to the car.
Things were much quieter the next morning; whatever residual anger Sam felt he was keeping to himself. Jayme was quiet as well, but it wasn’t a brooding quiet. He recognized the slow-growing focus of a hunter well enough to see it in her eyes.
They found the vampire nest as easily as he hoped, an abandoned barn deep in the woods. After parking the cars more than a hundred yards away, they crept within sight of the barn to get the lay of the land. Vampires slept during the day, giving them their best chance of a stealthy raid. Sunlight wouldn’t kill them but it would hopefully slow them down if things went south.
“Why not just let me go in and play House of Blue Leaves with them?” Jayme asked. “Pretty sure I can take them all on myself.”
John shook his head. “You’re big and strong, but they’re fast, strong, and they can do damage to you. We’re not going in there to have the whole nest wake up and attack.”
They headed back to gather weapons; John pulled Jayme aside. “Have your nahya handy?”
Jayme reached behind her back, drawing it. “Always.”
“How good are you with that thing?”
“Enough to accomplish your goals, I’m sure. And if it can’t do it, I have other secret weapons at hand.”
“You need to be careful. There’s no telling what could happen if one of them were to bite you.”
Her grin spread, making him wonder what she looked like without her Earth alterations. “You’re assuming that I’d let any of them get that close.”
“Look, you let me take care of finding the gun. You just watch their backs.”
“Don’t you think it’s time you told us just what we’re going after? Really?” she said, waiting until Sam and Dean were close enough to hear.
So he told them. He would have preferred to have left it for a while, even never, but they’d forced his hand. Time to let them just how important this really was, even if afterwards they would be incredibly unlikely to just let him handle things.
Chapter Seven
Author: Mich
Rating: PG-13 - R for violence
Genre: AU, gen
Spoilers: up through episode 1.20 Dead Man's Blood
Summary: From John's POV. In the midst of the hunt for the Colt, John Winchester has to decide how far to trust Delphinar's daughter now that the yellow-eyed demon is in his sights.
6
Sam wasn’t budging. There was a time when John still had the height and power to overpower his younger son in both senses of the word, but they were clearly past that point. Sam was taller now, still slender but slowly gaining muscle, and he was confident enough to stand up to his father. Dean was doing his best to try to defuse the situation but tempers on both sides had flared way beyond that point.
And still no sign of the neromancer. She hadn’t gotten out of the car that he’d seen, and she had stayed clear of the clash of wills. If he was lucky she’d stay clear.
He just couldn’t understand why Sam didn’t get it. He thought that maybe time away at college would have matured him a little, give him some perspective and some understanding that would mean the end of the angsty teenage bullshit, that he’d finally get just why his father didn’t have the time to stop and explain every decision that he made, every order he gave, that he couldn’t afford to, and that there were some things that were just none of Sam’s damn business. Dean got it; why couldn’t he?
Or maybe Sam just needed to get it out of his system. It was possible, but of all the horrible times for him to dig his heels in . . . and the fact just made him angrier. Sam was the one who left, and now he was back and wanting to call the shots?
Over his dead body.
He and Sam were toe to toe, nearly bumping chests as they tried to shout each other down. Dean was trying to get between them when he suddenly stepped aside, making room for something much larger that grabbed John and Sam and forced them apart. He knew what it was as soon as he felt the huge fingers with their clawed tips fist his shirt and jacket with what must have been enormous gentleness on her part to avoid tearing into his flesh, but it was still a shock how much power there was in her hands. He might have been able to ignore Dean, but this was a wall of fur and flesh and muscle that he wouldn’t be able to fight around.
“I think that’s enough,” she said to Sam, her voice that deeper, more resonant version of the one that fit into her smaller human form.
“She’s right, Sam,” John said.
That huge head swung around to face him, her lip curled back just enough to show her fangs. “I mean BOTH of you,” she rumbled, the vibration running through him. “There are more important things to worry about right now than your dick-swinging contest. Now stow it, or deal with me.”
Dean snorted. “You heard the lady. Put the rulers away and zip it.”
In the face of such an inexorable force, he had no choice but to back down. He looked up at Jayme, meeting her gaze, which contained more than a hint of warning and a lot of determination. He turned and headed back to his truck, a realization slowly creeping over him.
Delphinar had gotten her way in the end after all.
They were close. Very close. But it was night and darkness was not the right time to make a move. There was no time to find a motel, so they pulled their cars off the road and well into the woods to wait the few hours until dawn.
Everything was still for a while, then Jayme got out of the car. She came over to the truck, waiting until he rolled down the window. “Over your little snit back there?”
“Is Sam?”
“Of course not. I didn’t expect him to be.”
“Look, Jayme-”
“I know what you’re going to say. Save it. It IS my business now. I’m part of this whole thing whether you like it or not. You’re stuck with me. And you know what? I’m through being shy about it. You wanna fight with Sam or Dean? You go right ahead, but not now. You of all people should know that going into this without focus can get someone killed. And I will NOT allow that to happen.”
“You’re sure of that.”
She braced her hands on the door ledge. “I would even go through you if I had to. But they love you more than you can imagine, and that means I won’t. Ever. But don’t pretend for an instant that I feel the same way.”
“That a threat?”
She stepped back. “You tell me. You can take that any way you want.” She headed back to the car.
Things were much quieter the next morning; whatever residual anger Sam felt he was keeping to himself. Jayme was quiet as well, but it wasn’t a brooding quiet. He recognized the slow-growing focus of a hunter well enough to see it in her eyes.
They found the vampire nest as easily as he hoped, an abandoned barn deep in the woods. After parking the cars more than a hundred yards away, they crept within sight of the barn to get the lay of the land. Vampires slept during the day, giving them their best chance of a stealthy raid. Sunlight wouldn’t kill them but it would hopefully slow them down if things went south.
“Why not just let me go in and play House of Blue Leaves with them?” Jayme asked. “Pretty sure I can take them all on myself.”
John shook his head. “You’re big and strong, but they’re fast, strong, and they can do damage to you. We’re not going in there to have the whole nest wake up and attack.”
They headed back to gather weapons; John pulled Jayme aside. “Have your nahya handy?”
Jayme reached behind her back, drawing it. “Always.”
“How good are you with that thing?”
“Enough to accomplish your goals, I’m sure. And if it can’t do it, I have other secret weapons at hand.”
“You need to be careful. There’s no telling what could happen if one of them were to bite you.”
Her grin spread, making him wonder what she looked like without her Earth alterations. “You’re assuming that I’d let any of them get that close.”
“Look, you let me take care of finding the gun. You just watch their backs.”
“Don’t you think it’s time you told us just what we’re going after? Really?” she said, waiting until Sam and Dean were close enough to hear.
So he told them. He would have preferred to have left it for a while, even never, but they’d forced his hand. Time to let them just how important this really was, even if afterwards they would be incredibly unlikely to just let him handle things.
Chapter Seven