Second Nature 5/?
Chapter 5
Dean froze. Although whispered these had been the clearest words Baby had spoken so far. And she'd just asked him if he had to kill her.
Do you have to shoot me? The words echoed in his mind.
She looked up at him with suddenly misty eyes and it broke his heart.
"I don't know." He answered honestly because he didn't know. She hadn't attacked them, hadn't shown any sign of typical werewolf behavior but would it stay that way?
A single tear rolled down her cheek and she blinked rapidly. With his thumb Dean wiped it way. Her very first tear as a human being, if she actually was human, that is, a dark part of his mind whispered. Her first tear and he'd caused it.
"I don't want to hurt you or Sammy." She caught his hand and pressed it against her cheek. "If you have to, you do it."
Dean may not know this woman very well but he knew his car, the one constant in his life. Killing her? That ranked among killing Sam. He wasn't sure if he could do that.
She must have read something in his expression because her gaze hardened.
"You were prepared to shoot Sammy." She reminded him. "You said I shouldn't worry, Bobby would take care of me."
"You heard that?" Dean shifted uncomfortably.
"Don't let me hurt you."
"You don't seem much like a werewolf to me." He said with a forced smile. "As long as you don't try to rip my heart out I won't shoot you. Deal?" He'd meant it as a joke but she held his gaze with her strange eyes and gave him a sincere nod.
"Deal."
This time she let him help her too her feet and she staggered towards the door with him hovering near by but under her own steam.
Like Dean had predicted Sam was pacing the room. His laptop stood on the kitchen counter but Dean doubted it would get a connection so it was pretty useless. But of course Sam had tried. He hadn't put socks on in the meantime but he'd tried to hook up his laptop. Dean rolled his eyes and made a mental note to get his brother some socks.
"Hey." Sam stopped his latest round in front of Baby and ducked his head to have a look at her. "How are you?"
"I'm running on fumes." She admitted and didn't object when Dean guided her over to the fireplace. With a sigh and no grace she dropped into the chair. "You need to gas me up soon. This body has a crappy mileage."
For a second Dean tried to hold back the laughter. Then he made the mistake and looked at Sam and then they both doubled over. Baby frowned at them and that didn't make it better. Like to drunks Sam and Dean held on to each other, keeping each other upright. On shaky legs and gasping for air, Dean just rolled with the hysterical laughter bubbling out of his chest.
"With a body like this." Dean wiped away the laughing tears. "Gas is going out not in."
Crying with a new wave of laughter Sam's knees buckled and he went down in a shaking heap of limbs. Dean hadn't seen him this carefree in ages but after the tension of the last month, make that years, it felt good to see his brother like this again. Dean could only hope it would last for a while, just a little breather, they both needed it.
Baby waited patiently but with a mild confused expression for them to catch their breath and that look alone drove them into two more laughing fits before they finally calmed down.
Dean guessed Baby was too used to them, the big belching contest of '97 came to mind, to say something about it. Or it was just stoic car behavior.
It was past two in the morning and Dean stood in the little kitchen, preparing sandwiches for the three of them. He couldn't remember when he'd eaten the last time, same for Sam, and his stomach grumbled in anticipation. They were all running on fumes so to speak, which still made him smile, and Dean longed for a good night's sleep as well. He and Sam both could use a little R&R but with the new turn of events that would have to wait for a little while longer. Didn't it always?
While he put together the sandwiches Dean had an eye on his brother and his car, having a little chat over at the fireplace.
Our lives are so weird. Dean shook his head and arranged the sandwiches on a plate. Just basic sandwiches which were more than good enough for Sam and himself but now they looked kinda simple to him. Her first meal should be something better than this.
"Dean, look at this." Sam held Baby's hand in his, giving a strange impression of a fortune-teller.
"What?" Dean set the plate down, simple or not, they needed to eat. Sam showed him Baby's hand with the palm up and for a second Dean had no idea what Sam was trying to show him. But then he saw it.
"Wow, that's going to drive the CSI guys nuts." Curious he inspected the lines closer. "But it makes sense. You have chrome colored eyes so why not tire mark fingerprints?"
"Is this bad?" Baby asked and drew her hand back, making a fist as if she needed to hide her not normal fingerprints. Her earlier question was back on Dean's mind.
"Na." He made and dragged another chair over. "It's part of your charm. Let's eat."
He and Sam hungrily reached for the sandwiches but Baby just held hers and sniffed at it.
"It's called a sandwich." Dean explained with his mouth full. "Solid gas for humans."
"I know what a sandwich is." She tried a little bite. "There is still a half eaten one under my backseat, only waiting to grow legs to take over the world." She said it with a grumpy seriousness that made Sam and Dean both choke on their own food.
"Dammit, Baby." Dean cursed when he'd finally forced the bite down his throat without suffocating. "Don't do that."
She just gave him a smug grin and took a huge bite. When she made a pleased sound Dean's own sandwich suddenly tasted way better and he ate with new appetite.
"Speaking of stuff …" Sam cleared his throat and rubbed the back of his head. "The stuff inside you, you know, in the trunk, the weapons and such … where is it? It's not on the ground outside, is it?"
The last part was directed at Dean who shook his head. There had been nothing outside, only rain and mud.
Baby thought about that for a moment. "I don't know. It's still in the trunk, I think?"
Sam nodded as if this made sense. "I guess it will be there if you turn back. I mean when … you know …"
Baby didn't say anything, eyes on the food in her hands.
"So basically we don't have an actual car right now, no weapons and we're stuck out here." Dean leaned back in his chair. "And we still have no idea what happened to you or how long it's going to last. Awesome."
"I'm sorry." Baby said meekly and laid her half-eaten sandwich back on the plate.
Realizing what he'd just said, Dean reached for her and opened his mouth to say something but Sam beat him to that.
"Don't be." Sam gave her his best puppy dog eyes. "Nothing of this is your fault. I was the one who got you bitten in the first place. You saved my life."
"And I promise I'll clean you out, vacuum you and furbish you until you look like you just rolled down the line." Dean paused and shook his head. "Well, that was the weirdest thing I've ever said to a woman."
"Thank you." Baby gave both of them a warm smile. They finished the sandwiches in comfortable silence and in the end Dean could barely keep his eyes open. A glance at his brother told him that Sam was close to falling asleep in his chair as well and even Baby looked like an overgrown toddler past her bedtime.
"Well." Dean clapped his hands, startling everybody. "How about we turn in?"
"Sounds good." Sam stretched and yawned. "I get our stuff."
"Huh?" Baby raised an eyebrow at Sam who disappeared in the bedroom just to come back a second later with their bags.
"Sam and I are going to take the bunk beds." Dean explained. "Lucky you gets the big bed all for yourself."
The confused expression stayed on her face.
"This is the first time I have to explain a bed to somebody." Dean stood up and gestured for her to follow him. "I show you."
At least she was familiar with the human need of sleep. Dean couldn't count the nights they'd spent sleeping in the car so she had to know about that.
"That's why Sam's always complaining about my backseat being too small." She stretched out on the bed with a happy sigh.
"Your backseat's fine." Dean assured her. "Sammy's just an overgrown giant"
"Hey, I heard that." Came it from the other room, making both of them chuckle.
"Think you can sleep?" Dean asked and tucked her in. She nodded, her eyes already dropping. "If you need anything, I'm right around the corner."
Dean switched off the light but couldn't help it and stood in the doorway for a moment, just watching her. A fond smile sneaked on his face and he silently vowed to her to make this right again.
"Stop staring." She mumbled without opening her eyes. "It's creepy."
Dean hurried to close the door.
When he came out of the bathroom Dean found Sam already in bed. In the top bed.
"Hey, that's my bed, bitch." Dean growled in a low voice to not disturb Baby.
"And why should it be?" Sam had the nerve to ask, looking down on him.
"I'm older." Dean stated the obvious. "I get the top bed."
"Sure you can climb up here, old man?" Sam asked and rolled to his back. For a second Dean considered dragging him out of bed by his foot but he didn't want to wake Baby. And he was too tired for this shit.
"This old man can kick your ass at any time." Dean muttered but settled in the other bed.
There was a moment of silence.
"She okay?" Sam asked with real concern in his voice. He didn't have a tight connection to the Impala, not as tight as Dean's anyway, but she was his home as well. The only real home they ever had.
"She's fine." Dean hurried to say and hoped he wasn't lying. "We call Bobby in the morning maybe he knows something."
Sam was silent for a moment and Dean swore he could hear the wheels turning in his head.
"What if she turns back as soon as she falls asleep?" He finally asked.
That was a valid question, Dean guessed. So far Madison and that Dave werewolf as well had turned when they'd fallen asleep.
"Then we'll have to break down the back wall to get her out."
Chapter 6
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