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ladydragonhawke · 5 years ago

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The Lesser of Two Evils

Season 15 fanfic starting exactly at the ending of Season 14.

For anyone who would like to have an easier reading experience here’s the link to the story

https://archiveofourown.org/works/20647562/chapters/49379330#workskin

SPOILERS FOR SEASON 14

CHAPTER 5/? WIP

Summary: Light coverage of the three weeks Sterling, Cas and Jack were MIA. An old enemy has appeared, only their current situation has made them change their colors.

Chapter 5: Wolf in Sheep’s Clothing

When Dean woke up, he went immediately into the war room, waited for a few mins then slunk away into the kitchen to get his morning dose of caffeine infused whiskey. Sam soon popped in sporting his normal bedhead before running his hands through it only once, correcting any stray strands thereby making his hair perfect for the rest of the day.

“Anything yet?” Sam asked as he lazily poured himself a cup of coffee.

“Nope.” Dean sipped his whiskey coffee trying not to show his unease.

“It’s only day three, don’t worry too much. At least we got the Wi-Fi up and running yesterday.” Sam raised his cup as a salute to a job well done for yesterday’s accomplishments. They had to run out into the nearest town and shop to “buy” a new router and there was surprisingly hardly any undead and people were almost going about their days as normal as they could. Some roads were closed or buildings with boards and chains on them with bright red spray paint as a warning to all to leave this building well enough alone.

“Phones are working.” Dean mumbled as he raised his in a flash as if he could show the connectivity.

“Really? When was that?” Sam hurriedly asked as he pulled his out of his pajama pants.

“Around…” Dean paused as he took a sip and tried to come up with a good time that didn’t indicate he really didn’t sleep well. “three?” Seemed reasonable. “Some texts hit me last night and woke me up. Must’ve been a backlog.” Safe.

��Holy cow. Yea I’ve got quite a few myself. Wonder if the news is back on too.” Sam thought out loud as he sat across from Dean and fiddled with his phone to pull up some news stations that were still broadcasting. He pulled up a live broadcast from a local station somewhere in Kansas.

“…military officials ask that all those who are seeking asylum from highly populated areas to please contact their local office to ask for their zones’ evacuation location, and to not leave without verifying with authorities…”

Sam switched to a more prominent station that covered the central US.

“…still seeing that the undead are being isolated off into specific areas of cities and towns where they are easily contained. Officials are still unsure as to how they are going to deal with them once they’ve corralled all of them into certain locations. Local and state authorities are still meeting to find an answer to that question. Back to you Bill.”

“Today in other news there has been a surge in reports of things other than the undead causing unrest in densely populated cities to the fields in Oklahoma, reports range anywhere between vampires to werewolves. Whether these stories are valid or mere hysteria from the outbreak of undead is unknown but there will be more information to follow soon as the President has made a decision to formally address the country in this trying time. Now we’ll go to Bob for a quick look at the weather, Bob?”

“Jeezits. All hell broke loose. Literally.” Dean sighed.

“No kidding. I’ll fish through some of these reports and figure out what’s solid.”

“I’ll help in a minute I’mma get some breakfast going for the girls. Jody and Donna mentioned on heading back if things were good enough here, and that strange chick we picked up still hasn’t woken up yet.” Dean finished off his whiskey-coffee feeling a bit better and got up to start cooking his standard eggs and bacon.

“They did huh? Alright. I’ll be in the war room.” Sam checked for a nod of confirmation before leaving the room. Dean was starting to get that look of worry on his face, Sam knew he’d possibly have to keep an eye on him if Jack and Cas are gone for too long. Sam wasn’t quite worried, yet.

The smell of bacon woke up everyone else in the bunker calling Claire and Donna first from their slumber. As they entered the kitchen sniffing the air like hound dogs, they moaned in delight at the sight of two monstrous plates stacked high with maple smoked bacon. Claire was first to snatch a few strips before Dean caught her in the act.

“Hey, grab a plate. An empty one! Before diggin’ your hands in there. You two want eggs with your bacon?”

“Yes please!” Claire was nearly awake just from the joy of being offered food. Donna was still lazily and patiently waiting behind her for her share of breakfast. After Dean served both of them Jody and Alex groggily waltzed into the kitchen, after smelling the aroma wafting from the kitchen for a few minutes they could no longer keep their stomachs from moving their bodies. They both grabbed a plate, but Alex grabbed a second one. Dean noticed it first as Jody was still busy getting sleep out of her eye.

“Didn’t know you were that hungry Alex.” Dean poked.

“It’s not for me. Rowena.” She stated sleepily.

“Ah, taking a plate to Rowena? She still with that girl?”

“Yep.”

“Well, I’ll give her a bit more bacon.”

“Awww, I want more too.” Claire pipped up. Her plate was still full of bacon, she was most likely saving it for last so she could savor every strip.

“You’ll get more after everyone get’s their share!” Dean chuckled. “Last time I let you, you nearly ate all of the bacon I made.”

“A girl can’t help it.” Laughed Claire, showing no remorse for her past actions. Truth be told she’d do it again if she could.

“Mmhmm.” Sighed Dean as he finished serving Alex and began serving Jody who was still as groggy as when she entered.

Alex walked carefully with both plates of food as well as two mugs full of hot coffee, in her hands as she navigated the halls trying not to bump into the corners as she turned. She wasn’t quite awake yet for navigating with arms full of food precariously perched on either arm, but she managed to get to the infirmary with spilling only a splash or two of coffee.

“Morning Rowena. How’s the patient?” Alex announced as she entered.

“All’s well on my end. Or at least that’s what I think anyway. Oh! Here let me help you with those dear.” She shot up from her chair and carefully grabbed a plate and mug from Alex setting them down on top of a rolling metal trolley.

“Aw thank you love for breakfast, wait.” She looked at Alex as if the food may possibly be poisoned.

“Dean made it, don’t worry.” Alex chuckled, poor Sam.

“Ah, perfect. Thank you.” Rowena smiled as she plucked a few strips from the small pile on her plate and ate them daintily as she leafed through one of her tomes.

“Find anything on what’s going on out there?” Alex asked as she started in on her eggs.

“Well I did a quick scry and not much has changed in our area, funny how these things avoid this area altogether.”

“It is weird.” Alex affirmed.

“Phones and internet are back up according to Sam.”

“Really? I haven’t seen him this morning.” Alex pulled out her phone from her back pocket while taking a bite of bacon, verifying her information.

“He’s in the war room. Trying to worry himself further with any awful news from outside.” Rowena magicked her coffee with the creamer and amount of sugar she deemed perfect before taking a sip to make sure it was consistent.

“Doesn’t look good out there.” Alex confirmed as she stared into her phone while eating a forkful of eggs. “But what’s the textbook for?”

“Well,” Rowena started as she took another strip of bacon while turning another page. “Sam and Dean wondered if there was a spell to call or summon Amara.”

“And?” Alex inquired as she looked up from her phone in slight shock. She’d only heard about God’s sister.

“Nothing yet. I’m going to need my full library for this one. Those undead better not have touched anything.” She grumbled.

“Didn’t you ward your place or something.”

“I did, but you never know. Not with The End happening.” She took a deep sip of her coffee infusing a bit of whiskey in it just to fortify her a bit. “Plus, I was hoping this one would wake up soon.” She gestured with her coffee cup toward the immobile stranger on the bed, slight sweat on her forehead glistening in the low light.

“You’ve closed her wound completely and she’s healed up really well. It may be too early for her to be up and about anyway. I’d give her a day or two and she should wake up.”

“Is that a bet?” Rowena perked up.

“Maybe.” Alex was sure in her skills of guessing these things but didn’t want to lead on Rowena.

“I’ll wager two days.” Rowena smirked.

“Three.” Alex stated flatly. “Ten bucks?”

“Tch… come now.”

“Fifty then?” Alex raising an eyebrow. High roller huh? This’ll be easy money. “And no spells to wake her up either.”

“You’ve got yourself a deal.” Rowena extended an empty hand toward Alex.

Alex took it swiftly and shook it firmly, she was definite in her deduction. Their little gambling scene was interrupted by Dean walking through the Infirmary with two plates full of food as he made a stop standing between Alex and Rowena.

“How’s Sleeping Beauty?” he joked.

“All healed up and doing well considering, she should be coming round a day or two more.” Rowena postulated toward Dean not giving any sign that a bet was made just now.

“Good. I’mma see how Sam’s dealing with the end of the world news. Keep me updated.” He called back as he headed toward the war room.

“Will do!” Alex and Rowena called after him.

They both went back to their breakfasts; Alex took to her phone to search for accurate news as Rowena continued searching for a clue for Amara.

Dean walked up to Sam who was deep into his laptop it seemed as if he fused with it. Dean set down Sam’s plate with a light tap and a fresh cup of coffee. “Chow time. What’s the latest?”

“Oh uh, thanks.” Sam grabbed his new cup of coffee and took a sip without really bothering to check if it was made the way he liked it. “A lot actually. It seems like a few of the ghosts, ghouls, or demons we kicked to the curb are back. I checked my email and the husband to that woman in white we dealt with way back in… pfftt.”

“You mean when I pulled you from college to help me look for dad?”

“Yea. She’s… back.”

“No way! What…”

“That’s not all.” Sam interrupted as he filtered through his email a bit. “The guy who we helped with the demon on that plane… um Jerry! Called me, leaving me a message about a plane that went down 40 minutes into the flight, the same way as the one we dealt with.”

“Holy shit.” Dean huffed as he crammed a few strips of bacon into his mouth.

“That’s not the worst of it.” Sam turned a bit pale as he spun the laptop around so Dean could see the screen. Dean nearly dropped his mug of coffee only managing to slap it down on the table, spilling quite a bit on its surface. Dean stared directly into the eyes of someone he never wanted to see topside again.

“Dick Roman? How’d he escape Purgatory?” He asked angrily. All those months, years spent in purgatory as a price for getting the leviathan off Earth and back into their “natural habitat” and seeing it all spat back in his face was infuriating to say the least.

“I don’t think they escaped.” Sam stated flatly.

“Chuck.” Dean cursed under his breath.

“I think…” Sam sighed, hoping against hope that he was wrong here, “he undid everything we’ve done.”

“You mean every monster or baddie we put away is back topside?” Dean was right angry now. “When it rains it freaking pours!” he shouted as he gripped the back of a chair with both hands.

“DAMN IT!”

As the broken pieces of the chair settled Sam rotated his laptop back to face him knowing this was definitely not a scenario either party thought was even possible. So the thought of doing it all again seemed like an even bigger leap than before. They lost people dear to them to get where they were, people who were lost to stupid mistakes or who sacrificed themselves to further the goal of a monster-free Earth. The thought of having to redo years of progress that was undone in the blink of an eye was an unbearable weight that seemed to only become heavier. Dean slumped in a chair in front of Sam not even glancing at his slightly untouched plate of now lukewarm breakfast. He rubbed his face with his hands as he took in the full weight of the situation and started to panic at the mere thought of tackling everything all over again.

“I’ll reach out to some folks I know and give them the 411 on leviathan and get in touch with anybody who may be able to lend us a hand in anything.” Sam stated, trying not to inflect any possible thought of grandeur or like he was getting his hopes up.

“Why bother?” Dean whispered.

“We can’t give up Dean. Not yet.” Sam didn’t close his laptop but pushed it to the side so that if anything serious popped up he could have eyes on it.

“Chuck just reset everything. It’s like we weren’t even here.” Dean choked; he was trying not to break but things were starting to get too much.

“We’ve got Rowena looking for Amara and when Castiel and Jack get back we can figure something out. We can still do something Dean.”

Dean stood up from his chair and leaned on the backside of it for a minute letting his head dangle between his arms. He wasn’t quite giving up, but he was still listening. He was just so tired.

“Once we figure out how to contact Amara and get her input, we’ll figure out what to do then. So, for now…”

“For now we just do what we can? Hunt the same things that we’ve already dealt with before. And what about the leviathan? We can’t leave them alone. They’ll eat everyone before we can get to Amara. What then?” He raised his head showing his tired red eyes. “I just…” He stood up straight covering his mouth with his hand.

Then without another word he trudged back to his room. In anger? Defeat? Sadness? Sam wasn’t sure, but he was sure Dean would come around, he just needed some time. Sam looked at Dean’s plate of food and slid it over to himself taking a bit of the eggs and piling his mass of bacon onto Dean’s. He’ll want it soon enough. Sam ate his plate of eggs slowly with the laptop just in his periphery as he stared a hole in the wall across from him. There was going to be a lot of work to do, Sam just hoped Castiel and Jack would make it back soon. For Dean’s sake.

Jody and Donna decided to head back with Claire after spending the week in the Bunker, to make sure everyone in their area knew how to deal with what was going on. Giving everyone “The talk” was not Donna’s forte but she had no choice. Claire was more than happy in returning to the field now that there were more baddies to hunt, but Jody made it clear to her not to hunt alone. There were now more monsters than hunters than ever before. Alex called into the hospital saying she was dealing with a family emergency which they took very well and just asked to keep them updated when she could return. Alex was starting to worry since the stranger’s heart rate was not rising like it should at this point, indicating that she should awaken soon. Rowena was still searching for a spell to find the location of Amara, but on the side started searching for healing spells to try on the stranger, as Sam grew increasingly worried about Castiel and Jack.

A few days passed and Dean finally came out of his room looking for something to do as waiting around for Castiel and Jack was becoming more and more nerve-racking. Sam had a hunt lined up for both of them to do already. Rowena took to searching her library of tomes for a spell that detailed on calling or locating Amara. Alex was still by the strangers’ side tending to her, checking her pulse and giving shots of adrenaline as well as any method she could think of to try to wake her up. Nothing was working and she was becoming more and more frantic with each day that the stranger remained asleep in the bed.

The next week Sam and Dean went out nearly nonstop on hunts, mostly due to the influx of monsters, but also because Dean could not stand to be in the bunker for more than an hour before he wanted to start swinging at anything that resembled a monster. He would occasionally check in with Alex to see what state the stranger was in and what could possibly be the cause of her being out for this long. Alex couldn’t explain it and even reached out to a few mentors she knew and some in the professional field for an explanation. None of them could provide an answer that satisfied Alex. It just didn’t make sense unless, according to one of her psychiatrist friends, she experienced a severely traumatic situation and prefers to sleep than be awake. But even then, the patient would need to wake up for daily functions necessary for the human body. Alex exhausted every possible academic explanation and solution she could find before conceding to the fact that she could not do anything else.

Rowena was equally as perplexed as Alex and was starting to wonder if her healing spells had an adverse effect on the stranger. She started bringing over as many tomes as possible and filtering through as many as she could within the eight to nine hours Alex needed to sleep, shower, eat, before she had to resume in searching for something about Amara. Then Sam and Dean came back one evening to find Rowena searching deeply in one of her tomes of spells as they were seriously panicking about Castiel and Jack. She promised to search for a way to find or contact them as best she could. Needless to say, she had plenty of research on her hands.

The boys were hunting as well as gathering anything and everything needed in order to deal with the leviathans like before. The bone of a righteous mortal washed in the three bloods of the fallen. They figured it worked last time it should work this time same as before. They needed Castiel again just as before to make it work and finding a ruler of fallen humanity was daunting enough that it took a few days and multiple demon slayings before finally having a name to essentially get anywhere with.

A father of fallen beasts wasn’t too hard as the revived vampire alpha was surprisingly more than willing to give his blood to the brothers. “Good luck.” Was all he said to them before laughing them out of his manor. To him it was just one more obstacle off the board in order for him to complete his desire to turn as many as possible this time. He’d planned on getting to the boys later, he wanted to savor every ounce of pain he could derive from them, then when the time came, he’d do what he should have done years ago. For now, they’ll be his unwilling and unknowing pawns in his game.

As the things that crawled in the night became more numerous than before, the boys had covertly sent out a video detailing on how to deal with everything from flaming a ghost to just short of killing a leviathan. They weren’t comfortable showing their faces just yet, but Sam lent his voice to dub in on the video to go further into depth on how to deal with everything out there. Dean would chime in to lend some better information on a few things Sam wasn’t too sure about and clarify a few points.

Within a few days it was trending, then within the first week of posting it, viral. People started taking their word as gospel. Folks were curing family members of vampirism, trying to find a better solution for werewolves, and a whole host of other answers to problems that people would not have found if not for the video. Sam and Dean knew they couldn’t be there to save everyone, but they could spread some information so that people could help themselves the best they could during this trying time.

The following week Jody and Donna returned to the Bunker after hearing no word about Jack and Castiel. Sam was seriously starting to worry about Dean’s mental state as he was spiraling into more and more fits of rage than usual, nearly loosing himself completely in a hunt to rid the world of John Wayne Gacys’ ghost, again. It turned into a slaughter-fest when they came out of the house to an overwhelmingly monstrous group of undead that appeared from nowhere. Sam first called Jody to see if she could talk to Dean but instead of just talking over the phone, she knew she needed to see him face to face to assess for herself just how far off the reservation he was.

Donna called the boys a day later to ask for help in a simple matter that she knew she could deal with. She just wanted to see the boys as much as Jody did. After Sam and Dean helped her with the shapeshifter issue Donna drove behind them toward the Bunker, she also needed to resupply on items needed to deal with other creatures. Claire just wanted to see Sam and Dean again, as well as Alex who she was truly starting to miss, although she would never admit it.

Rowena and Alex, bet completely forgotten, were trying everything human and witchy possible to wake up the stranger. Rowena had resolved to just dive into the tomes she had at home rather than lug them back and forth, and instructed Alex to grip a charmed athame whenever she needs a break or if the stranger woke up. It would immediately teleport Rowena to that room as soon as it was touched.

Jody drove her truck into the garage that was hidden in the side of the Bunker while using her hands-free to talk to Alex inside.

“Alright I’m here. Just got in.”

“Be there in a moment.” Alex called.

“You sure, it’s not like I don’t know my way around in there.”

“I could use a bit of movement. I’ll help unpack.”

“Still hasn’t woken up huh?” Claire asked, interjecting herself into the conversation.

“No…” Alex grumbled as the sounds of her moving through the halls could be heard through the phone.

“Well we’ll see you in a few. Bye.” Jody said as she hung up the call with a press of a button on her steering wheel. As she did, she felt the odd feeling like something was going to happen, but she wasn’t sure if that was just caffeine jitters or if Rowena was hanging around nearby or something. As she parked the truck close to the door, she saw something dark in her side mirror. She twisted around in the drivers’ seat to get a better look from behind her. Nothing.

“Huh…” she thought aloud.

“What?” Claire probed.

“Nothing, thought I saw something.” Jody waved it off as just stress and started to open all the doors on the truck. Jody and Claire started unpacking certain goods that the Bunker was low on and Alex appeared to help. There wasn’t much but it was enough to fill the arms of all three of them. As they began the trek to the storeroom, they could hear muffled shuffling, as if a bunch of people were shuffling their feet in the hallway. Jody threw what she had in her arms into the room next to her, and unholstered her firearm.

“Get behind me Alex.” She ordered softly as she stepped in front of the somewhat confused girl.

“What’s…” but before Alex could finish her question a small group of undead came around the corner toward them shuffling slowly in their direction.

“Shit! Everyone back up toward the kitchen!” Jody cried out. She holstered her gun; it was no use in this situation.

They all shuffled back to the kitchen as fast as they could and armed themselves with any of the sharp implements that were available. Jody stood close to the doorway as the first defense, she would filter them toward Claire, and she would deal with any stragglers. Alex, who was not quite built for fighting stood in the back as the last line of defense should Claire need assistance. As Jody began laying into them, Claire was right behind her offering help in any way she could. Within a few minutes of starting Jody could hear someone shouting over the grumbling of the undead.

“BOYS?” she called.

“Girls, are you safe?” Jody could hear what sounded like Donna screaming from the other end.

“YEA, WE’RE ON OUR WAY!” Jody shouted as she felled two zombies to her right. She waved for Claire and Alex to start running toward Donna.

“How many have you got?” Called Sam from the distance.

“ONLY SIX LEFT HERE!” She screamed back, stabbing another one in the knees as Alex was trying to squeeze past Jody and the wall.

“Dean is on his way to you!” Sam shouted.

“‘Bout time.” Thought Jody as she beheaded another one.

Alex was gone down the hallway already running at full speed while screaming.

“INFIRMARY!”

Jodys’ eyes widened as she remembered the incapacitated stranger in that particular room. She started hacking faster, then a sudden machete appeared above her shoulder and embedded itself in the head of an undead that was a little too close for comfort. Dean appeared on her other side and tackled the mass of zombies knocking them down like bowling pins. He shot up and jerked the machete out of its skull and began dismembering them one by one. Jody stepped back seeing he clearly needed to let off steam and checked on Claire who was watching him with a look of shock and concern on her face. They began helping in dismembering what was left before Dean took off at a run for the infirmary with Jody and Claire close behind him.

“And that’s where we are.” Dean finished.

Sterling wasn’t really listening to him as much as she was fishing through everyone else’s mind for all the memories of the past few weeks. Just getting a condensed version was never good enough for her. Her expression didn’t really change the whole time everyone shared their portion or two of the past few weeks. Some understated, others embellished theirs to no end.

Sterling swallowed a mouthful of water. Her feet were back up on top of the table crossed in front of her by the ankles. “And that’s where we are.” She parroted back.

“I know it’s a lot to take in right now…” Castiel started.

“You ain’t kidding!” Sterling chuckled finally making eye contact with him. His memories were a little too deep to dive into at the moment, but she did want to examine him closer. He was a deplorable sight to see, his wings, his being… she felt pity for him. It must have shown on her face as his expression changed from concern to confusion.

“Look, I appreciate everyone helping and dealing with me. And…” She paused trying to show that she’s still processing everything. It worked as the former angel backed off a bit. “I just need some time to think. On my own.”

“Do you have any family? Someone we can contact?” Sam pipped up.

“Oh boy, don’t open that can.” Thought Sterling as she half-chuckled. “Not anymore.” She showed a pained smile and that seemed to quiet everyone.

“Is there a bathroom around here?” She broke the silence with a sniffle. Alex shot to life as she stood up and went to guide Sterling herself. “I don’t need an escort just tell me where, I can figure it out.” Sterling asserted.

“Down that hall five doors to your left.” Alex pointed hesitantly, but before she could make any other motion toward her, Sterling was already off. Sam and Rowena were giving each other secret looks of confusion and worry.

“Thank you, I’ll be back.” Sterling assured everyone as she walked quickly down the hallway. It was actually the sixth door, but she wasn’t going to fault the poor girl.

As Sterling entered the bathroom, she warded it quickly against any prying eyes and ears from listening.

“Alright Billie I know you were watching that mess.”

“I gotta say, you are quite the actor.” She said as she materialized. “So how much longer do we need to play pretend? In case you didn’t notice this world has been slowly burning for three weeks. I’ve searched everywhere I can within the limits of my abilities for Amara.”

“Yea, Castiel was able to zone in on a particular system.”

“No shit! Now what, want me to pop over there and…”

“No, something’s off…” Sterling interrupted. “That system that he described was the beta version of everything. I thought he destroyed it before I passed.”

“What do you mean beta version?” Billie asked as her impatience was rising.

Sterling stood in place pondering things as Billie sighed in frustration and crossed her arms waiting for some kind of response. Sterling stood in place for a moment winced in pain then continued pacing. Billie wanted to address it but figured she wouldn’t give an answer even if she asked.

“I’m more worried about these things they’re calling Leviathan, what are they?” Sterling thought out loud.

“Beings that Chuck created before everything. Before angels.” Billie stated tersely.

Sterling stood in place and thought for a moment, then her eyes widened.

“What?” Billie asked genuinely concerned.

“I’ll explain later. For now, I’ll need to help them with something that just popped up and I’ll call you when we get done.” Sterling instructed quickly.

Billie stopped her from opening the door. “No, I’m done being your little errand girl. Tell me now or I’m done with you. You think you’re the only one with a plan here?”

“I can’t or it won’t work!” Sterling spun around and flashed Billie the eyes of angry determination. Billie jumped back a bit at the sudden change of character.

“I…” Sterling caught herself, “As much as I hate saying it, you’re just going to have to have faith.”

“In you?” Billie half-chuckled.

“I don’t like this any more than you do. Now I need to help them, and I’ll call you when it’s time, ok?” Sterling reaffirmed the situation waiting for a reply from Billie.

“Fine. I still don’t like this.” Billie stated flatly as she disappeared.

“Neither do I.” Sterling mumbled to herself as she slowly opened the door, ridding the room of the wards she put in place leaving no trace. She willed her face to look as if she cried a bit and her nose was full of runny snot. She opened the door tissue in hand, to find Alex and Rowena looking expectantly at her. They also seemed a bit shocked as if they didn’t expect her to open the door at that moment. A quick scan of Alex’s mind revealed they were trying to listen in. I’m glad I put those wards on. She thought as she cleared her throat.

“What’s up?” Sterling sniffled.

“Something came up on the news and we thought you should be there to see it.” Rowena recited almost like she was in a trance. Sterling could tell Rowena was anxious about her, that Sterling may or may not be human. She’d just have to up the acting factor a bit, nothing she hasn’t dealt with before.

They walked together into the war room with Alex right behind Sterling wanting to give her an arm or shoulder to cry on. Sam had a major news channel pulled up on the screen of his laptop facing out toward the middle of the table as everyone was on either side staring at it as if it was about to expend gifts to all those watching. Sterling still wiping away tears from her eyes stood at the opposite end of the table and looked at the laptop expectantly. She knew what was coming but dreaded it all the same.

Dick Roman’s face appeared onto the screen as he sat regally in a newsroom with all kinds of animation flashing and swirling on the screen around him. It began zooming out from his face to show his upper half of his body as she stared intently into the camera. Sterling knew what was coming and braced herself.

To keep up appearances she showed confusion on her face and pointed to the screen while looking at Alex as she asked “Isn’t that Dick Roman? That one politician guy that disappeared or whatever?” Alex nodded and looked back to the screen. It cut to a young blonde news reporter sitting across from him holding some papers, as she began the dialog.

“Good afternoon everyone, I’m Katherine and I’m joined here today with previous presidential campaign runner Dick Roman. How are you today Mr. Roman?”

“Please, call me Dick.” He smiled. “I’m doing very well thank you.”

“Glad to hear it Dick, and I’m happy to see you back on the scene. There was quite the gossip going around that you had died while you were campaigning. I’m happy to see that is simply not true.” She chuckled.

“Oh, yea you know fake news and all.” He waved off the thought of him being dead.

“So, what happened to you during the campaign? You very much fell off the face of the Earth.” She chuckled nervously.

“Well, I needed some time in order to deal with some private family matters that took precedence over the campaign. There was a death in the family that was a big blow for us, and I needed time to sort through some things.” His face changed from that of the seriously creepy guy from seconds ago to one that utterly looked as if he did indeed go through something traumatic. Dean wondered if it was the bone he shoved through his neck, and if he remembered the feel of it. He’s gonna feel it again soon, that’s for damn sure.

“But now that I’ve had some time to grieve and look within myself for the answers I was looking for, I’ve realized something Katherine.”

Katherines’ face was a little shaken up as if this was more off script than she initially thought. “And what would that be?” she smiled anxiously.

“I don’t need to put on an act anymore. I can truly be myself now. I have no desire to return to the being I used to be. Sad, bored, annoyed, angry. I have no need to feel those emotions anymore. Not when I can take what I want.” He went to reach for Katherine’s hand, but she pulled it off the desk and covered her retreat as a need to filter through some of the paperwork she was clinging onto for her life. His intimidation factor shot up ten-fold as he stood up at her rejection. She shot up also as a way to escape the situation and turned to call for security, but before a sound could escape her lips, she was pulled back to face Dick as he swallowed her instantly… on live tv.

He licked his lips as the camera was visibly shaking from the operator who was most likely shitting himself, but felt he wasn’t allowed to leave as Dick’s eyes focused on him for a fraction of a second before returning to the camera.

“Be seeing ya.” Dick said as he gave a saucy wink to the camera and walked off screen. That wasn’t for the general population, Sam and Dean knew that was a message for them. It was a little tease for them to come find me. The room gave a collective sigh.

The news channel instantly went into technical difficulties screensaver mode as Sam finally sat down in a chair near the laptop. Sterling was gripping the back of a chair so tight the metal was starting to bend under the pressure before she took a deep breath and released the groaning metal. She looked around at everyone in the room who were collectively shitting themselves in their mind.

“What do we do?” Sterling asked looking at Sam and Dean who were mostly still trying to retain their fury at the situation. She hated to probe even though she already knew the past history, but her “character” had to be believable, especially when two of them are starting to question already.

“What did he mean by that? Just what the Hell is he?!” She was using the inner anger as an excellent catalyst toward sounding panicked. If Billie was watching, she would have been impressed.

“He’s a Leviathan. They’re super old creatures from before even angels were created. God created them first then tucked them away into a place called Purgatory where they’ve been for Centuries. Until…” Sam hesitated, he didn’t want to point fingers but definitely didn’t feel like opening up that wound on Castiel. He’d just come back damn it.

“Until I released them and used myself as a conduit of their collective power. I sought to use them as a means to correct many wrongs. But my hubris got the better of me and they were released onto the Earth.” Castiel finished for him. He wasn’t the same angel he was before; he took responsibility for his past mistakes. He knew he made plenty. Sam gave him a look of pity as he wanted to console Cas, but he was interrupted by Sterling who was more into answers. Even answers she already knew but still had to ask.

“So, how do we deal with them?” She leaned on the back of the chair again, fully committed to see this thing through.

“We? Whoa, look lady I know you think you’re tough, but these things are not unthinking walking zombies. They’re highly intelligent and damn near impossible to kill. I appreciate the enthusiasm, but you also just woke up.” Dean perked up, he was really starting to like her gumption.

“Alright well, I want to help.” Sterling stood firm knowing she was about to get backlash.

“Cool it there Leroy Jenkins, we’ll let ya help once you’re cleared for duty by Alex.” Dean stood immovable in his decision.

Alex jolted at her name being mentioned, she was so deep into her own mind that she wasn’t really paying attention to what was going on around her. “Wait, what? I’ll do what now?”

“Clear her for duty.” Dean stated again.

“Oh uh, alright.” Alex replied still visibly shaken.

“We’ll let you know when we’re ready to move. You just rest up until then.” Dean looked into Sterling’s eyes as a means to further imply that he was the boss here. Sterling was willing to humor him, for just a little longer.

“Sounds good.” Sterling nodded and sat down in the chair she was leaning on as a way to show she was willing to do what was needed. This seemed to put Dean a bit at ease as she started looking around the room more to find not everyone was enthusiastic about the current situation they were in.

“Alright look. We have the weapon needed to “kill” Dick and send his buddies back to purgatory.” Dean informed flatly as everyone gave a slight gasp at the news.

“Wait, how did you acquire the blood needed for it when…” Castiel started a barrage of questions but before he could finish Sam interjected.

“We’ve gotten all the blood we need but we were waiting for you.” Sam said coolly.

“Ah, I see. I’m sorry it took so long to…”

“Don’t apologize. We know it wasn’t your fault.” Sam interrupted. “Plus, you have a hint of a location of Amara. That’s something we can work with.” He smiled as he redirected the current topic.

Castiel smiled back but still felt guilty for failing to realize just how long he was gone, and how the Observatory affected time.

“You and me both pal.” Thought Sterling as She was reveling in the cascade of emotions flowing from them at that moment. Love, sense of family, sense of belonging. She was remembering a similar feeling from long ago but stopped herself from delving too deep as she felt eyes on her. Rowena was still giving her looks of uncertainty, this was going to be a tough one.

“So, once we form a plan to take out Dick and his entourage, we’ll need everyone’s help on this. We don’t want anyone going Rambo.” Dean announced.

“Speak for yourself.” Interjected Rowena with a scoff.

“Alright, so everyone just hang tight for a bit. Got it?” Sam asked loudly.

The room gave a collective “Yes” that was lacking in energy, but everyone knew how dire the situation was. Everyone started going their separate ways leaving Sterling, Alex, and Rowena alone in the war room. Alex was still deep in thought on the situation and Rowena was torn between focusing attention on finding a spell for locating or speaking to Amara and trying to unwrap the feeling of mystery from Sterling who was sitting in the chair staring up at the ceiling in thought. In reality, Sterling was searching for the exact location of Dick Roman, she found him in 2.5 seconds. Not a record by any longshot but at least she could see where he was at that moment. Apparently, he was on the west coast in a city called L.A. just as he was leaving the news station he was broadcasting from. Humans give the strangest names for places and things. Sterling got up quickly from her seat which spooked Alex and Rowena a bit and she gave an apologetic wave of her hand toward them.

“Sorry, I’m uh… is there a bed that’s available that isn’t in the uh…” She gestured toward the Infirmary.

“Oh yes! Absolutely, wait here and let me get some things and I’ll show you one you can have.” Alex bounced out of the war room feeling better now that she can direct her attention to something else.

Leaving Rowena and Sterling alone with an awkward silence between them. Rowena was content in focusing her attention on Sterling, but only with her periphery as she faked filtering through her tome of master-level spells. Sterling took interest in the tome seeing that the cover looked severely weathered while being stained a deep shade of red, and the ink seemed to be written in human blood. What was even more interesting was that she was able to read and decipher the text within just by glancing at it. “What the hell?” She thought as her mind drifted to Chuck and just what kind of influence did he use to make this actually tangible for creatures of this caliber to possess.

“Interesting book you have there. You can read this chicken-scratch?” Sterling joked.

“Yes, I can actually.” Rowena lied. Sterling feigned shock, “Nice try witch.” She thought to herself.

“No shit!? That’s crazy, so you’re a witch huh?”

“I am. Something wrong with that?” Rowena was starting to judge her a bit.

“Hell no. I think women should be allowed to assert their dominance.” Sterling said, knowing that would win her over.

It did.

Rowena gave a wide smile and pulled her fake attention from the book to look Sterling in the eyes. “What did you say your name was again love?”

“Sterling, and yours was….” She put a had to her head as if searching, “Row… Rowena? Am I right?”

“You are, I’m quite impressed you remember. With all that’s going on.” Rowena gave a gentle gesture to everything in existence, if there could be such a gesture.

“I tend to stick better to people and things that are in front of me and I can affect. Or help, really. Names can be funny sometimes though; I’ll remember some and forget them if I don’t see the person again for a while.” Sterling said as she sat on the end of the table facing Rowena.

“So, Sterling. What do you do?” Rowena had completely closed the book, but left it resting in her lap.

“Well I was in the military for a number of years…”

“Doing what?”

“Eh, if I told you, I’d have to kill you. Ah, but you’re a witch so I assume you have something for that.” Sterling chuckled knowing full well she in fact did and still does. “I did secret operations for the military, assassinations, insurgency stuff. Nothing light I’ll tell you that.”

“That explains the state you left the Infirmary in after those walkers paid you a visit.” Rowena pulled her body back a bit as she started to relax. She was falling back into believing Sterling was human, slowly.

“Knee jerk reaction really. Started having flashbacks when they grouped up on me.” Sterling floundered a bit to feign being vulnerable in that moment. “Sorry, that kind of stuff can bother people I didn’t mean to bog you down at all. Especially not after all this shit has hit the fan.” She moved to stand up.

Rowena placed a supportive hand on Sterling’s shoulder. Jackpot.

“Not at all. A lot has happened since you’ve woken up. I appreciate you opening up to me, but you should really be careful. These kinds of monsters that are out there are worse than humans.” Rowena warned. At that moment Alex walked back into the room and made her way to the two.

“Not so sure about that.” Sterling joked. Rowena chuckled a bit knowing full well what she means. Alex cleared her throat a bit as a segue to move from whatever conversation she was interrupting to her presence.

“All ready?” Sterling glanced toward Alex as she gave Rowena a light pat on the shoulder.

“Yep, you?” Alex asked giving Rowena an apologetic look. Rowena waved it off, displaying that it didn’t bother her in the slightest.

“Yep, sleeping for three weeks can really tire a person.” Sterling joked as Alex began leading her to an unoccupied room. Sterling was able to hear a slight chuckle from Rowena as they left the room. As the humans say it, hook, line, and sinker. She smiled at her well-earned accomplishment. Alex twisted her head to the side to make sure Sterling was following her well enough.

“What’s so funny?” she inquired.

“Ah nothing, something a friend of mine once said.”

“Ah, well here you are.” Alex announced as they stood outside room number 8.

Alex opened the door with a free hand and walked in setting the items she was carrying on the desk next to the door. The room was small only housing a desk, bed, small chest of drawers, a nightstand and a chair. Sterling didn’t need light and could see every detail and atom if she looked hard enough, but Alex was human, so she flicked on the light.

“Ah thank you, much better.” Alex said as she turned to get a good look at the bed, making sure it was guest ready.

“Well it looks like you’re all set here. Let me know if you need anything.” Alex said as she started leaving.

“Alex?” Sterling stopped her in her tracks.

“Thanks again. For all your help. I really do appreciate it.” Sterling sighed, “I hope I can pay you back someday.”

“I’ll hold you to that.” Alex smiled as she left, closing the door behind her on the way out. Leaving Sterling alone in the small but homey room. Sterling didn’t need sleep, so she took to sending herself out to look around a bit, but mostly to keep an eye on Dick Roman. As soon as she saw his true being, she felt sick and angry. How could he? She thought to herself as she watched him all through the night travel from L.A. to Chicago.

“I will see you soon, much sooner than you think.” Sterling thought to herself as she watched him like a daytime telenova.

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watchingcutscene · 6 years ago

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No Man’s Sky

Pairing: Levi x Reader

Fandom: Shingeki no Kyojin/Attack on Titan

Word Count: 2000+

Note: The nsfw ban has me pretty disappointed with tumblr tbh, but i guess that hasn’t really stopped me from posting my stuff (still, if you want more regular updates and most recent stuff, pls follow my DeviantArt or even AO3)....This was written before the game No Man’s Sky actually came out, and we were all excited for it (before it actually came out and proved to be much less exciting than anticipated)

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She was an unpredictable summer thunderstorm. He was a constant light drizzle. She was an editor, a challenger, a ghost of wilderness that haunted the urban scene. He was an executive director, a nine-to-five worker, a man with a suit and tie constantly crisp and fresh and clean. She liked playing video games after half a bottle of Jack Daniels. He liked seeing his username ranked first on the score board.

They met through her forgetfulness. When Levi returned home nearly 10pm, he found a girl slouched against the apartment door next to his. Her hair was hastily put up in a messy knot. She had on a white button-up, tucked into a dark grey pencil skirt, all wrinkled between her back and her apartment door. She sat cross-legged with her worn out Chucks. The combination of Converse and business attire was what made his gaze linger. When she heard his footsteps, she looked up, her (e/c) eyes vibrant against his grey ones. She had a can of beer in her hand. “Hey,” she greeted him as she got up on her feet. Her voice was light and cheerful. “Hey…” Levi reluctantly replied, having not the slightest clue who this woman was. “I live next door,” she explained, flashing a flawless smile while dusting off her butt, “and I forgot my keys.” Levi’s suspicion eased, he shifted his bag of store-bought premade food to his left hand as he reached for his keys in his pocket. “Do you mind if I climb over your balcony?” He froze for a second, the sound of metal echoed through the hallway as the keys dangled in his hand. He met her gaze a second time. “You can,” his said, voice unintentionally impassive, though his usual deadpan of a face softened, “but isn’t that a little dangerous?” “I’ll be fine,” she replied, her voice trailing off on a high note. He nodded as he opened the door. She marched into his apartment after him, following him to his balcony. “Thanks,” she mumbled with one foot on the railing of the veranda. He watched her back intently, muscles tense, ready to launch himself at her should she falter the slightest. But she was more than graceful when she hurled herself over the railing, landing accurately onto her own property. When she stood up, the now empty can of beer still in hand, she turned and waved at him before heading through the sliding doors and disappearing out of sight. Levi stood there, staring after her, until many seconds had passed and the light in her apartment flickered on. She was pretty, quirky, and a little strange. Also, he noted after replaying the scene of her launching over the balcony, her underwear was black. The same evening a week later, he had begun to wonder when he’d run into his neighbour again, when he heard a knock on his door. He had changed out of his work clothes, and was sporting some grey sweatpants and a black V-neck. Off course, she was there when he answered, this time, she had her hair done up neatly, the bags under her eyes covered by the perfect shade of concealer, and her lips were graced with a wine coloured lipstick. Below her silky blouse and navy trousers, she still had on her old Converse. “Hello,” she smiled, lips curling perfectly, to which he replied with a small smile of his own, “have you had dinner yet?” It was past midnight. Levi leaned himself against his doorway. The distance between him and his visitor drawing a little closer than he had intended. She didn’t falter the slightest, her (e/c) orbs vibrant and unyielding. Seeing the plastic bag in her hand, he lied, “No, I haven’t.” “Good,” she replied, delighted, “I bought some sushi and liquor, and also the new game No Man’s Sky, care to join me?” Her toothy smile was dazzling. Levi felt compelled to smile back, it was contagious. “Um,” the man let out a low chuckle. Laughter was a thing his body was not accustomed to. “Sure”. She stepped back and toward her own apartment, keys already in hand. He followed suit. “Just think of this as a token of my gratitude,” she said as she fumbled with the lock, and when it clicked, added “I cleaned my room, don’t worry.” The apartment was smaller than his, and while it did look like she gave some last-ditched effort to organize the piles of magazines and video games scattered about the living room floor, it was not clean. At least not compared to his anyway. Levi wondered about the room gingerly, afraid to disturbed the organized mess. She was behind the kitchen counter, freeing the boxes of low quality sushi from the plastic bag. She also pulled out a bottle of Jack Daniels. While she was reaching for beer from the fridge, he remarked, “you have a lot of magazines”, notably a lot of issues of the same magazine. “I’m an editor,” she responded as she placed the various kinds of alcohol and plastic containers of sushi on the coffee table, along with two shot glasses. “Are you a gamer?” she asked half-heartedly, turning on the PS4 that was placed on the floor under her flat screen. “Yeah,” he admitted, picking up the DVD case labeled “No Man’s Sky”, the art was quite impressive. “But I haven’t played this one,” he added. “Hmmm..” she turned back to face him, opening a can of beer and bringing it to her lips before mumbling, “What do you play?” Levi got a can of his own, chugged half of it, and answered half-heartedly, “I don’t know.” She chuckled, “what do you mean you don’t know? Like what, FPS?” He nodded. She giggled to herself and shook her head, mumbling something under her breath he could not hear. They spent the night getting tipsy and exploring the universe. He named planets after people and places, and she named them after the underdogs of the material world. It was easy to distinguish, his were planets called “Zeus” or “Nagoya”, and hers were planets named “Fish Tacos” or “Toe Nail Clippings”. Alcohol really did stimulate creativity. Normally, games like No Man’s Sky would not be Levi’s cup of tea. There was no defined objective, no competition, and therefore no sense of accomplishment. Though he hated to admit it, he liked the gamer clichés: Counter Strike, Call of Duty, and the new Star Wars. He was pretty much a stereotype. She was all that he was not. She didn’t need to vent her stress through virtual reality violence. Game art and animation were the most important. She never paid attention to score boards or kill streaks. She played all her games tipsy. Despite that, Levi still went out and bought himself No Man’s Sky the next day on his way home from work. In fact, he had to visit three different shops to find one that wasn’t sold out. He almost pulled an all-nighter trying to fulfill his purpose as a hitchhiker in the galaxy that first night. He popped open a bottle of whisky that had been collecting dust in his cabinet since the dawn of time, and named his first planet after the girl next door. He told her about his purchase over dinner, which he had invited her to when they ran into each other again one morning before work. His coworkers (namely Hanji) would go nuts if they ever found out Levi asked a girl to dinner. She was wearing a black jump suit with heels and bright red lipstick, looking fierce and powerful and oh-so-beautiful. She was delighted. “I didn’t think you were the type to play those games,” she tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, “What did you name your first planet?” Levi was not prepared for that. The tips of his ears flushed pink. “Um,” he must have looked surprised, “I named it…Chuck Taylor”. She frowned in bemusement, “What?” “Oh, you know,” he looked down at his plate, desperately trying to keep his cool, “it’s just…a thing,” he failed. She laughed it off, not pressing him any further. They bonded, for the first time, over things beyond video games. Her favourite flavour of ice cream. His collection of cufflinks. Existential despair. Childhood memories. Allergies. His feelings of tender curiosity found its shoring and morphed, without warning, into a heat wave, a revelation. He fell in love. That was a first too. One night she called him out of the blue just to ask what he was doing. “I’m playing No Man’s Sky,” he couldn’t stop the smile from creeping up his visage. It was a good feeling to have someone call just to ask what you were doing. “Hey what a coincidence!” her voice was very high pitched, “me too!” Levi hesitated before asking, “are you tipsy again?” “Uh-huh,” she didn’t even bother to hide it. “Why do you always play while intoxicated?” he finally thought to ask. “Well,” she began, he could hear the background music from the game playing through the phone, “reality is really demoralizing when you’re sober.” “What does that mean?” She paused to think, “It’s that kind of thing you know. Apparently, there are 18 quintillion planets you can explore in this game.” “Okay…” he ensured her he was still listening. “That’s already such an unfathomable number, but in reality, there’s probably more planets out there,” she continued. “We spend our entire lives being indoctrinated with the brilliance of humanity, but that brilliance is actually nothing but a speck of dust”. Levi paused, processing. “You are very well-articulated for a drunk person,” was his reply. She giggled, “well I’ll have you know that I have a master’s degree in English lit and culture”. He let out an exhale of laughter, “impressive.” The line fell silent. Neither of them knew what to say. “Sometimes I think people are like that too,” it was she who broke the silence, continuing with her drunken philosophical generalizations about human existence, “do you know the book Kafka on the Shore?” Her brain made pretty big leaps when she was drunk. “No,” he replied simply. The background music from the game was no longer echoing through the phone, replacing it were the low hum of traffic and voices of urban life. “Well, it’s by this Japanese author – Murakami,” she continued, “he wrote about this myth, where humans used to have two heads and two hearts, but because the gods feared our strength and power, they cut us in half, so now we have to spend our entire lives searching for our other half.” “That’s very poetic,” Levi stood up to stretch. “But according to No Man’s Sky,” her voice sounded a little distant, muffled by background noises and blurred by wires transmitting telephone signals, “you will never find your other half. Because it’s simply statistically impossible. They say it’ll take 5 billion years to explore every planet in the game, that’s simply too many life times. We can’t afford that.” “But it’s happened,” Levi interrupted, remembering the Google headline, “on the first day of its release, in fact. One player landed on another player’s planet. They contacted each other to meet up at the same location in the game,” he seemed so eager to prove something. She became interested, “did they?” “Yeah,” Levi switched the phone to his left hand, “but apparently they couldn’t see or interact with each other. The game didn’t support multiplayer I guess.” She took some time to think, "well, at least our world supports multiplayer." "What?" "Cause I can see and interact with you." "Well, if you put it that way, I guess..." There was a long pause. Levi became distracted by the background noise on her end. “Hello? Where are you?” he was a little concerned. She was drunk after all. She didn’t reply for a while. “On my balcony.” He was slightly taken aback. Without a word, Levi pulled open the glass doors beside his living room and stepped out into the chilly evening air. “Hey,” her voice synced with the copy of it echoing through his phone. She waved. Her hair was down and flowing through the breeze. It was a mirrored image of the night many days before, she had one foot over the railing. Without warning, she made a leap, the light from her phone screen illuminating Levi’s visage as she landed on his balcony and stumbled into his arms. A moment of silence passed before he sighed in relief, “we have to stop meeting like this,” he chuckled, “what were you doing out here?” “Looking for my other half,” she mumbled sleepily, wrapping her arms around him, head resting on his chest. “I found you.”

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asflowersfade · 7 years ago

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Ficlet: By His Side (Always)

A MacGyver ficlet. This one means a lot to me. I don’t even know why.

So many changes in their lives. Mac’s still an asset, Jack’s still his bodyguard. Everything else’s different. A future fic. Jack’s POV.

It’s those damn birds that wake him up, again, screeching their little hearts out right outside his window, those sick bastards. He would throw a shoe at them, again, but he still hasn’t found the last one yet.

With a groan, Jack rolls onto his side and peers at the alarm clock blearily. 6.37 am. Jesus tap-dancing Christ, he’s too old for this shit.

He could try falling asleep again but it wouldn’t do, he knows, he’s too cranky now. And so, with a resigned sigh, he crawls out of bed and stretches carefully, enjoying the cracks and pops in his joints and the ache in his muscles. Then he scratches his belly and gives his near future a deep thought: shower or coffee? And since they’ve just had yet another hot summer night and he feels as sticky as a well roasted marshmallow, he decides that shower it is. And heads for the adjoining bathroom.

Showered and brushed - shaving’s reserved for special occasions these days - Jack dresses in clean clothes - he really needs to do laundry soon - shoving a gun into his side holster - just a precaution - and heads for the kitchen to make coffee.

The open-space kitchen slash living room’s already full of bright sunlight when he steps out of the short hallway leading up to the bedrooms in the “west wing” as they like to call the left side of their cabin. The “east wing”, the right side of their home, is pretty much a mirror image in design, only there’s just one big room there instead of two smaller ones.

And by said room’s door, there in the shadowy recess of the opposite hallway, there’s a small red light blinking, signaling a transmission in progress. It makes Jack pause and lift an eyebrow. He wonders how long that’s been going on. He should check it out but first, coffee!

He starts the state of the art coffeemaker going - he insisted on that one; before, he used to drink any sludge available, as long as there was caffeine in it, but these days, he likes to actually enjoy his coffee, thank you very much! - and then he heads for the living room with its comfy furniture, a big stone fireplace - and an even bigger TV! Another thing he insisted on.

While the coffeemaker’s doing its thing, burbling and hissing quietly on the counter, Jack switches the TV on and several smaller screens pop up on the big one: surveillance in black and white, cameras set at various angles all around the cabin and the surrounding woods; one’s even aimed down at the lake. All seems to be working right, all looks clear. Later on, he’ll have to go through the night feeds in greater detail, just to be sure, but not before coffee.

The coffeemaker beeps cheerily and Jack walks around the counter to pour himself a mug. Oh yes, he thinks as he closes his eyes in pure bliss, inhaling the strong aroma of a really good coffee, living the good life. Then he pours another cup, grabs a bottle of water out of the fridge and heads for the “east wing” and for their very own “war room” there.

He has to fumble with the mugs and the bottle for a bit to press his right hand to the scanner by the door, but finally the door clicks softly and then unseals itself with a little hiss of pressurized air. He nudges the door with his hip.

Walking in, Jack has to pause and let his eyes adjust; the room’s dark - there’re no windows in here and the lights are off - and he would hate to trip, considering the floor is sunken a good three feet below the main level. It’s all done as a precaution, for protection, just like everything else in the cabin. From what Jack understands, a missile could hit their home and this room would survive, maybe a little shaken in its proverbial boots but otherwise intact.

There’s a wall of screens opposite the door, glowing with images of a… desert, it seems. Someone with a camera - probably clipped to his or her vest - is running, hiding, then running again, headed for a ramshackle building, barely discernible in the gathering twilight. If it’s a live feed, it must be somewhere in... Asia? Probably, considering the time difference. Then the camera catches a glimpse of another figure, running along - a man in a desert camo. Ah, Jack thinks, one of those missions…

Finally able to see again, he walks down the steps and heads for the ergonomic chair, made of real leather so buttery soft it makes one want to weep, facing the screens. “Here,” he whispers, handing over one of the mugs.

Mac looks up with a grateful smile and accepts it, wrapping his right hand tightly around the handle. “Thanks,” he whispers back, inhaling deeply; yeah, even Mac learned to appreciate good coffee.

Soft voices are rasping out of the speakers, issuing and accepting orders. Jack sets the bottle of water down on the small table by the chair, then he taps at his ear and points at the screen in a “Can they hear us?” gesture.

Mac takes a little sip of his coffee - it’s still rather hot - and setting the cup down on the table next to the water bottle, he switches something off on the console that seems a part of the chair. “Now they can’t. We have a moment before they need me again,” he says.

“What’s going on?” Jack asks, watching the men, US soldiers from the look of it, sneak closer to the building. There’re two very quiet puffs and a lookout by the door drops dead, then the one at the corner of the house.

Mac points at the screens with his right hand, his left one cradled in his lap. “That’s a terrorist hideout,” he informs Jack simply. “Based on our intel, these people might’ve gotten their hands on a live nuke. The guys had to get in right away to grab it, they couldn’t wait for an expert to arrive and accompany them so…”

“They called you,” Jack finishes for him.

“Yeah,” Mac says. “I got the call at two in the morning, while they were already on the plane. We’ve been going through the basics ever since. Luckily, one of them went through an EOD training so they won’t be going in completely blind.”

Mac reaches out for his mug to take another sip - and in the glow of the screens Jack catches the little twist of Mac’s lip, the tightness in his face as he sets the mug down again, the tremble in his left leg as he tries to find a more comfortable position.

“How’s the pain?” Jack asks, aiming straight for the heart of the matter.

Now Mac grimaces openly but he also answers truthfully; he’s learned long ago not to lie to Jack about these things, he learned it the very hard way. “Bad,” he admits, sighing. “I haven’t had the time to take my meds yet.”

“Alright. Do you want them now or once this is over?” Jack points at the screens with his chin.

“After,” Mac replies immediately. “They need to get out of there within the next hour or so or they’re all dead anyway, bomb or not. Besides, I need my head clear for this. It is a live nuke we’re talking about here.”

Jack nods. “Fine. I’ll make breakfast and have your meds waiting for you in an hour.”

Mac grimaces again. “I’m not really hungry.”

“Egg-white omlets it is, then. With sausages and pepper. And hash browns,” Jack adds, enjoying the look of horror on Mac’s face; yup, he’s in for a lecture about cholesterol over breakfast. Honestly, he can’t wait.

“9-1-1, you there?” a voice crackles out of the speakers.

Mac flips the switch on his console back on. “Yes. What’s your status?”

“Two guards down, two to go. Geiger Counter quiet.”

Smiling, Mac replies, “That’s good, team leader. We’ll have you on your way back, safe and sound, in no time.”

Jack stands there a moment longer, watching the men on the screens take out two more bad guys and then enter the building. That used to be him, during his Delta Force days, then later on working for the CIA and in Afghanistan, spying for the Phoenix Foundation, and a part of him misses it, the action and the thrill. But another part, a much bigger part, is glad to be where he is right now.

He pats Mac on the shoulder and heads out, mug in hand, to let the kid focus on his job.

Jack takes his coffee out, down to the lake, and walks along the pebbled shore for a while. He has his phone on him, should Mac need anything, but Jack would be of no help to him right now. Assisting people in the field, that’s Mac’s job; under the code name 9-1-1 he seems to have made a name for himself over the last few years. But he also made new enemies. And it’s Jack’s job to make sure that nobody gets to him, just like always. Only these days, they don’t run around the world anymore, no. The world needs to come to them.

His phone rings and Jack pulls it out of his pocket with a smile. A special ringtone for a special person. “Hey, Matty. What are you doing up so early?” He stares across the lake, sipping his coffee and breathing in the fresh air with relish.

“Some of us are actually working, Dalton,” she snaps back playfully. “But why are you up at this hour? You’ve never been a morning person. I would’ve loved to wake you up and make you miserable.”

“You would!” Jack replies, chuckling. “It’s those damn birds, Matty. I swear, one of these days I’ll just shoot them all and make myself a roast!”

She laughs too. Then she asks, “How’s our boy wonder?” Her tone’s light but there’s genuine concern for Mac there. She’s always worried but much more so ever since the explosion that almost killed Mac, scarring him both physically and mentally for life.

“Working at the moment,” he says simply, not going into details. This might be a secure line but even those have ears these days.

“But how is he?” Matty asks again. She’s not asking about his job for the army and the various alphabet soup agencies. She’s asking about Mac as a person.

Jack sighs, still staring out across the lake. “Not getting any better, physically.”

“We knew that, Jack,” she says softly. “The doctors did tell us that this was as good as it would ever get.”

Pausing for a moment, Jack says, “I know. It’s just killing me, seeing him like this. I would switch places with him in a heartbeat if I could but I can’t and-and sometimes, sometimes that makes me so mad I want to punch something.” He takes a harsh breath and lets it out. “But I learned to be grateful that he’s still alive. Small miracles and all that.”

“Yeah,” Matty responds. “You said physically. How about the other stuff?”

Jack takes a gulp of his coffee, now only lukewarm. “His nightmares are almost gone. His PTSD’s getting better, too, slowly. The peace and quiet around here helps. He’s still not ready for big crowds, though. Not after--”

Not after the bomb that he couldn’t disarm and that almost killed him - and that did kill five people down in Miami. The Ghost’s present and his revenge in one. The madman finally found a bomb that Mac couldn’t defuse. It was almost the same scenario as in Mac’s house all those years before - two bombs, connected through a wireless receiver - almost but for two slight modifications: a motion sensor and, most importantly, a timer ticking down fast.

Disarm this one and the other one, hidden somewhere else, will blow up. Let this one explode and the other one will deactivate on its own. Control the number of casualties or leave it to fate. Choose, MacGyver, choose...

Mac made a judgment call. He let the one he found go. He let the timer run out while they tried to evacuate as many people as possible from the bus terminal where it was found. Still, five people didn’t make it and Mac, too, got caught in the blast. The other bomb, they found it in a hospital later on. It would’ve killed many, many more people if it exploded. Still, Mac never forgave himself.

But they never talk about this, at least not with the others, about The Aftermath. About the weeks Jack spent in the hospital, at Mac’s bed, trying to keep his best friend alive through sheer force of will. It was a dark time, between the explosion and Matty’s new job offer. Because when it became clear that Mac would never be able to go back in the field, there came the question, now what?

Jack turns to look at their log cabin. It was built with the help of the Phoenix Foundation, the men and women who usually maintained safe houses - which this turned out to be for Mac. A sanctuary, a workplace, a new home. Jack and Bozer helped with the rough jobs while Riley and Cage outfitted the house with the best tech and best security measures, their little family banding together to help one of their own.

And then they moved in and Mac became an asset of a different kind, always there, always knowing what to do, just a phone call away, but safe, hidden in the middle of nowhere and with Jack guarding him both from his enemies and his inner demons alike.

He takes a deep breath and closes his eyes for a moment, phone still pressed to his ear. He’s been quiet for a while but Matty’s waiting him out, she understands. She knows when to push and when not. And he’s never loved the woman more than in this moment.

“He would like to see you guys in person again,” Jack says, opening his eyes and looking up at the blue, blue sky. “He misses you. And so do I.”

“And we miss you, too,” Matty replies softly. “The team’s on a mission right now but once they’re back, we would love to come for a visit.”

“Speaking of which, how are they doing?” he asks, smiling a little.

There’s a smile in Matty’s voice, too, when she replies, “They’re doing great, Jack. Cage, Riley and Bozer have become one of our best teams.”

“Not as good as me and Mac, though, right?” Jack protest, mock affronted.

“No, Jack. No one’s better than you two, I promise,” she says kindly and it makes Jack’s chest feel warm.

Then he sees the cabin door open and Mac steps out onto the back porch. Leaning heavily on his cane, he walks up to the railing and waves down at Jack, just a little with his weak left hand before he curls it around his midriff again. In the bright morning sun the scars covering the whole left side of his body seem more visible than ever and Jack’s heart aches for his friend again.

But at the same time, seeing Mac there, alive and actually smiling down at him, makes him happy. Mac’s here and he’s safe, despite everything, which is much better than the alternative. Jack lifts his mug in acknowledgment - his coffee’s now gone cold - and starts heading up the slope, back towards the cabin again.

“I gotta go, Matty,” he says into the phone. “His Highness left the audience room and will be expecting breakfast now.”

She laughs a little. “Tell Mac I said hi.” But then she sobers a little and asks him the same question she asks every time. “Do you regret it?”

Jack doesn’t need to ask what. Do you regret leaving your job? Do you regret moving out here where there’s nothing but trees and ducks? Do you regret giving up your whole life to guard this brilliant broken nerd whom you couldn’t love more if he were your own flesh and blood?

And his answer is the same as always. “No.”

Then he hangs up, and putting his phone away, he runs up the slope, chiding Mac before he even reaches him, “You said I had an hour!”

Mac, who’s standing there, waiting for him, shrugs. “It was easier than I expected. When they said ‘live nuke’ I thought it would be something actually complicated. Turns out it wasn’t. But do you really want to hear about that?”

Jack walks across the porch and holds the door open for Mac, who hobbles inside, his cane tap-tap-tapping against the hardwood. “Do I want to hear about a nuke on the other side of the world? Hm, let me think. Did it go kaboom? No? That’s enough for me.

“Oh, by the way, Matty says hi,” Jack adds as he passes Mac on his way to the kitchen.

Grimacing a little, Mac sits down on one of the stools at the counter. “Did you talk about me?” he asks, a little annoyed.

Unruffled, Jack replies, pouring Mac a glass of apple juice, “Always.”

Mac glares at him but then his frown turns into a grateful little smile when Jack sets the glass down in front of him together with several pills of various shapes and colors.

“So, breakfast, then!” Jack says, rubbing his hands. It’s not a question. Mac’s appetite hasn’t been what it used to be since the incident and if it were left up to him, he would exist on dry toast only.

Mac swallows a pill and nods, replying as expected, “A toast will do.”

Jack laughs. “Think again, buddy.”

Smiling, Mac suggests a compromise. “And... blueberry jam?”

“No food that turns any part of your body blue can be good for you!” Jack states, shaking his head, mock disturbed.

“And all that fat clogging your arteries is?” Mac asks with raised eyebrows.

Jack points a finger at him. “But at least I can’t see that!”

“No, but you’ll definitely feel it very soon,” Mac retorts. “At the very least once you have to buy new pants because your old ones popped at the seams.”

Narrowing his eyes, Jack leans against the counter threateningly. “Are you calling me fat, kid?”

Unafraid, Mac points out, “I think your new wardrobe speaks for itself.”

“Says the noodle with the skinny ass!” Jack snaps back.

They keep it up, glaring at each other, a second or two longer. And then they burst out laughing and Jack reaches out across the counter to ruffle Mac’s hair fondly. Jesus, he loves the kid. And whatever lies ahead, Jack’s exactly where he wants to be, by Mac’s side.

#macgyver #angus macgyver #jack dalton #matty webber #thehemingwaygoldfish #my fics #my macgyver fics

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