#witness protection fic

[unhingedangstaddict]

I'll Hold Onto You While We Run Chap 13 Sneak Peak

“There you are!” Tommy came right up to Buck. “Sorry I was late, baby.” Tommy reached out and tilted Buck’s chin upwards slightly and suddenly Tommy was kissing him.

And well- it would be weird if ‘Oliver’ didn’t kiss his husband back, right? 

So Buck kissed Tommy back. Tommy’s lips were firm, yet pliant against his own. The feeling of Tommy’s day or two old stubble against Buck’s face was something he hadn’t experienced before, but he didn’t mind it.

Kissing Tommy felt- it felt good. It felt right. Buck suddenly couldn’t believe how much of his life he’d spent not kissing guys too. He would definitely be interested in doing this again.

Bisexuality was feeling more and more correct to Buck by the nanosecond.

Almost as soon as the kiss had started, it ended. “I was thinking we could stop and grab something for dinner on the way home.” Tommy suggested casually.

“Yeah, that works.” Buck agreed as he tried to act as though his whole world wasn’t being flipped on it’s axis.

Tommy smiled easily and took hold of Buck’s hand the way a married couple would so naturally take each other’s hands. “Let’s get outta here.”

Buck only managed to nod and hold onto Tommy’s hand and let Tommy lead the way to the car as his head spun. God he wished he could call Hen right now. He had her number memorized. He technically could, but he’d be breaking rules and they were all in place for his safety and his family’s. 

All Buck could think about was kissing Tommy Kinard. About how much he’d liked the kiss. About how he’d like to do it again. About how he wished it wasn’t an act.

“Evan,” Tommy sounded like he’d been trying to get Buck’s attention for a while.

“Sorry, what?” Buck looked over at Tommy and realized they were parked in the garage at the house by now.

“I asked if that was okay? The kiss?” Tommy prompted.

[lonelychicago]

inspiration saturday! 🌊

tagged by @jesuisici33 @hippolotamus @prince-buck-diaz @wildlife4life 💗

this is for the witness protection fic that i started five seconds ago lmao.

(also psps eddie will be a fisherman. ot didn't win the poll i made yesterday but @bigfootsmom made a really strong case for him and now im obsessed with the idea)

here's literally all i have for it rn:

Something bad is coming. When you've been working as a detective and have been undercover as much as Evan Buckley has, you tend to get a sixth sense about these things. You just know that something is about to happen, you can feel it deep onto your bones. You feel a shift in the air, almost. The first sign is when Buck walks into the warehouse where the heart of the operation is always beating. Where the information is supposed to flow and Buck is supposed to merge into the shadows, become one with all of them and get as much as he can so they can bust this crime nest and watch it crumble to the ground. Watch the empire that one of the most dangerous men in all of Los Angeles has worked so much to build up, fall. But when he first walks into the place on a Saturday night, as he has been doing for five months already, everything is silent. Dangerously, hauntingly silent. That's when he first knows something is about to go down, the fear hot and thick forming in his chest and growing every second that passes. By the time he hears a door close behind him, he can barely breathe around it. "Hello, Daniel… Or should I say, Detective Evan Buckley?" The Butcher's voice reverberates throughout the warehouse, loud and menacing. Buck closes his eyes for a few seconds, takes a deep breath and then turns around, trying to keep his face as neutral and blank as he can, despite his heart lurching to a sick halt. He's been discovered. "I don't know what you're talking about." He lies, even when he knows it's probably too late.

tagging: @buddierights @monsterrae1 @alyxmastershipper @honestlydarkprincess @diazblunt @buck2eddie @shortsighted-owl @the-likesofus @prettyboybuckley @heartshapedvows @panbuckley @spaceprincessem @cowboy-buck @911onabc and anyone else who wants to!!!

[starry-bi-sky]

Clone^2 - Separation Strikes

"Why do I have to go?" Damian asks, surly and accent-thick, it sounds more like a demand and a whine at the same time. Sitting on the kitchen table with his arms crossed, in a green t-shirt that Danny bought him at a whim when he was at a thrift shop, and black shorts, he's never looked more like a kid. There's a little backpack leaning against the table leg, Damian begrudgingly picked it out when they went shopping.

His English has grown in leaps and bounds since Danny found him -- er, or more accurately; since Damian was spat out in front of him. -- and very little did they have to use the translator on Danny's phone these days.

Which meant one thing: Damian can start attending school comfortably now. And 'go' was the Amity Smiles Child Care Center. Danny and Jazz went as kids until they were twelve, and Mom and Dad actually managed to convince the center director to let Damian enroll for the summer.

And it was summer; Damian starts today.

"Because," Danny says, trying and failing to hide the smile pulling on his face, his heart warm and soft, and also laughing at Damian's expense; "being cooped up in the house all day isn't good for you, and you're starting school in the Fall. And, in Jazz's words: you need to have interactions with other kids your age for the benefit of your social development. And besides, it's only for the morning."

Damian's nose scrunches up, and his eyes roll so violently that for a moment, Danny thinks about joking that he'll get his eyes stuck like that. He holds his tongue; his little brother already looks like he's five seconds away from committing an act of violence.

"I don't need social interaction." Damian sneers, his cheek in his hand; a neverend pool of pride. "I am--"

"The Blood of the Demon Heir, better than everyone else." Danny cuts off, waving his hand in dismissive circles, his voice mockingly deep. Damian's brown skin darkens in embarrassment, and he scowls at Danny. "I know, bud. But Jazz is right, -- don't tell her I said that, -- you should be around kids your age."

Especially when he starts First Grade in the Fall. Honestly -- Danny was a little nervous to send him to the center. Damian's long since cut the habit of trying to kill or otherwise maim people, his palms ache-burn with gentle reminder, but his tongue was as sharp and as cutting as his sword. He still struggles with trying to quell it when he's upset. Vicious child-weapon that he once was, and will never be again.

Danny knows that it comes from a place of fear and defense, that Damian lashes out because that's what he's been taught. That at the end of the day, he doesn't really mean what he says, and he's learning to express himself better. But the other kids don't know that, and kids can be unforgiving and cruel.

Danny just...

His slow beating heart sighs, melancholy settles behind his lungs.

He doesn't want Damian to be outcasted. He doesn't want him to be alone.

Not like he was.

Damian sneers again, but says nothing, his shoulders crawling up to hide his ears like a turtle receding into his shell. Danny watches him silently, leaning against the kitchen counter with his own arms crossed. The clock hanging on the wall ticks in their ears -- it's almost time to go.

He watches Damian, careful, and so he sees it when his little brother's stone-shell pride and petulance shudders, and cracks. The darkened furrow of Damian's brows weakens, and for a moment, slants back.

Ah, Danny thinks, his own shoulders slumping. Epiphany washes over him, and his sad-heart soothes in warm understanding. So that's what it is.

His head tilts, and his hair spills over his shoulders, messy and fluffy, tickling his neck. Some of his bangs fall into his face. "Hal 'ant easabiatan ya habibi?" He asks, voice low and soft. Just as Damian's English has improved, so has Danny's Arabic. He still stumbles over himself some days, and Damian says his accent is trash, but they can have whole conversations now in Damian's mothertongue.

(Danny was incredibly proud of himself for it.)

Damian's face darkens, his blush spreading across the rest of his face, and he ducks his head down. Grown-out curls, black-brown and springy, falls over his eyes. "La!" He yells, loud and indignant, and not at all convincingly. "La 'asheur bialtawaturi!"

He was nervous. Danny can see it now, in the hunch of his shoulders and the tightness of his face, and faintly, he can feel it too. In the ecto-rich air of the Fentonworks House, it thrums, barely-there, like a hummingbird behind his lungs.

Danny can't stop the little, fond smile that forces itself across his lips and upticks the corner of his mouth. "It's okay to be nervous, little brother." He says, he sounds like Jazz when he says that. He doesn't think she'll mind him borrowing the nickname.

He pushes himself off the counter, and Damian refuses to look at him, hiding behind his hair and in his shoulders. It takes three long strides for him to reach the table, and Danny turns, plants his hands on the ledge, and hoists himself up. Right next to Damian.

Damian leans into him easily when Danny's arm wraps around his shoulders and tucks him close to his heart. He can feel his ear against his ribs. Danny hunches over him, resting his chin on Damian's head. "It's so okay to be nervous, actually. I was nervous, Jazz was nervous." He tells him, scratching the blunt edge of his nails across his scalp. "Everyone gets nervous."

"'Ana last aljumiea." Damian mumbles, as small and feeble as he was the night on the OPS Center balcony, realizing that his mom and the League weren't coming for him. Realizing that he was replaceable.

Danny's half-working heart squeezes; in grief, in rage, and his faucet eyes sting. He breathes in carefully, and presses his nose into Damian's hair in a loving faux-kiss. "You're right, you're not everyone." He says, steady and strong, because if he's not a pillar for his family, who else is he?

He can feel Damian's eyes flick up to him, and Danny smiles into his black-brown curls. Tilts his head to squish his cheek against him instead, hand dropping to thumb below Damian's lashes. "You're Damian Fenton," Because the adoption went through a few weeks ago, and he's still riding that high, "You're my baby brother. O' Artist Extraordinaire, Kickass with a Sword, Vegetarian and Wonderful Co-Ghost Hunter."

Damian tries to stifle a smile, and fails. Score! Triumph gathers in Danny's gut, his smile grows wider. He squeezes Damian tight, and only releases him so he can look him in the eyes. "And if anyone gives you a hard time at school, and I mean anyone--"

Danny has bad memories of the teachers looking the other way when the other kids were bullying him, all because he was a Fenton.

And Danny, bleeding heart, bleeding hands, loves his family more than he will ever love himself, will never let Damian experience the same injustice. Not if he can help it.

His eyes narrow, and the buzzy-film of ectoplasm covers his eyes, making them glow, "--You tell me. And as your awesome great big brother-and-technically-dad-but-only-biologically, I will handle it."

Damian, wonderfully made, full of light, his little brother Damian, giggles weakly at him. A sound that's worth it's weight in gold. The scary eyes dissipate, and Danny matches the sound with a cock-eyed, impish grin, dragging Damian into a soul-crushing, too-tight hug. The kind that only annoying older brothers can give. "Got it?"

That gets a proper, if short, laugh out of Damian. He wriggles in Danny's arms, trying to break free. But Danny does calisthenics, his arms are as big as Damian's head, so it doesn't work. "Understood, now, daeni 'adhhab ya 'akhi!"

Danny laughs, loud and bright, and loosens his hold just a smidge, only so he can adjust his grip and hop off the table with Damian still in arm.

"Never!" He crows, hoisting Damian slightly. One eye flick at the clock, and in one quick move, he secures Damian under one arm like a football, and hooks his foot under the strap of his backpack. Kicking it up, he tosses it into the air and catches it with his free hand, and slings it over his shoulder. "Now, to the car, my boy! Before we're late and Mom and Dad get charged."

Damian groans, childish and dramatic and long, but his face is all squished up with a wide grin and glee. Danny can taste his joy beneath his tongue.

"And, if my little pep talk didn't encourage you," He says, reaching the door to the garage, flipping Damian up onto his hip instead. "If you have a good day today, I'll make you bal mithai when you get back."

Like all kids at the promise of sweets, Damian's eyes widen and glitter. Danny loves seeing Damian be a kid, it's his favorite thing in the world. "I will!"

[anonymouscheeses]

I'm gonna be shitting and screaming and starting fights if Sera becomes a villain. I can't take sibling angst, Sera loves Emily I swear guys believe meeee.

[ninzied]

wip wednesday

Some might find this part of the job tedious, but Henry enjoys it most of the time. It’s a welcome change to the rigors of fieldwork: some peace and quiet over tea, maybe a nice book or two while he’s at it.

The peace and quiet, though, are key. And Henry has frankly known neither of those things since entering this particular safehouse.

The whistleblower is a government aide. The senator he worked for is standing trial for alleged ties to the Russian mob, and until all that gets sorted out, the aide is under Henry’s protection.

Which, Henry is starting to realize, poses quite the conflict of interest. Because this man, this Alex Claremont-Diaz, might just be the death of him. Literally.

Unless, of course, Henry kills him first.

tagged by: @kiwiana-writes @cha-melodius @getmehighonmagic on this fine wednesday thank you ♡

tagging: @blueeyedgrlwrites @carrythesky @celeritas2997 @cricketnationrise @eusuntgratie

@everwitch-magiks @firenati0n @garglyswoof @hgejfmw-hgejhsf @maxbegone

@myheartalivewrites @onthewaytosomewhere @orchidscript @porcelainmortal @piratefalls

@sparklepocalypse @stereopticons @theprinceandagcd

[steddieunderdogfics]

MEMORIA (series) by emryses

@emryses

Rating: Explicit

81,955 words, 2/2 works

Archive Warning: No Archive Warnings Apply

Tags from first fic in series: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, 1990s, Eddie Munson Lives, Eddie Munson in Witness Protection, Friends to Lovers, Slow Burn, Mutual Pining, Hurt/Comfort, Bisexual Steve Harrington, Bisexual Eddie Munson, Steddie Big Bang 2023 (Stranger Things)

Summary:

It's January 1996 and Steve has recently moved to Pennsylvania for a new job as a children's librarian. Urged to do something with his evenings by Robin, he goes to a bar around the corner from his apartment and sees someone who looks an awful like Eddie Munson playing his guitar. Only no one has seen Eddie in almost ten years. Eddie Munson, whilst on the brink of death, was not so gently urged into the supernatural department of the United States Federal Witness Protection Program. The time he was in the program, he was stripped of everything he had and thought he knew, and was forced to become someone entirely new. He’s still trying to figure out who that person is. It’s been almost ten years, and in that time the only thing he has learned is that he is okay with being alone. He has to be. Otherwise known as, a story about finding the people you’ve lost, healing rifts (the personal kind, not the supernatural kind) and maybe for once, finally, falling in love.

Thanks for the rec! This recommendation is apart of our Writer's Wednesday! All of the recs today are written by @emryses. Want to nominate an author? Fill out this form!

You can submit fic recs to our asks or the submission box!

[aftgmostly]

List of AFTG fics to read (WiPro edition):

Words Are Futile Devices by IKnowWhoYouAre_Damianos

The straight men's attraction to Ryan Reynolds by @queen-of-seventeen

Coffee & Lies by Leocante

An Ocean on the Rooftop by attfna

A Quiet Night by kccastner

Time to Come Home by pavlikovskyslittlebird

[keychats]

Question does anyone want to write a multi chapter Barson Fic cause I have an amazing idea.

Prompt /Idea Drabble /plot bunny

Due to her actions of following Elliot she has been threatened and her son as well. One night while investigating Kathy’s death they are discovered and he dies while Liv is transported to witness protection to recover. But the whole world thinks Olivia Benson is Dead , so where is Noah ? But with his Uncle Rafa . In the events of her passing she leaves her son to her best friend.

So like it could have his mom in it and discuss how him living in her house for Noah is harming his mental health .And have him be upset because he never told her . Then like on the day the trail happens and she comes back they go out for drinks have a nice moment. She goes to the bathroom and sees a person flirting with Barba and backs off, she rationalizes that caught upon the memories.

However when it comes to the home front getting reinstated not an issue coming home and Rafa / possibly dad or even papi leaving doesn’t go over well. We can even get a moment when an upset and unruly Noah says I wish you didn’t come back and yeah.

This is the plot bunny 🐰 in my head can someone please try and make this a coherent story.

[dropofbittersea]

It didn’t escape him that Steve shared his assumed last name. “Are you gonna be my cousin?” Bucky asked dully.

Steve frowned. “Husband, actually,” he said easily, holding up his left hand to show a typical golden band.

Bucky scowled and closed the door.

AKA

An AU in which Bucky is put in the witness protection program and Steve is the agent hired to protect him/pretend to be his husband.

[messrsrarchives]

Ask game. Snily. 001

ask game

...i am fearful. i'm so fearful right now guys. is this a space place? ahem

when i started shipping it (if i did):

uh uh uhh ?? idk actually ! they're very much a ship i wouldn't say i *ship*, but i'm so bloody obsessed with their dynamic and i'm writing them for my fest so,,, here we are

my thoughts:

ohhhh we could be here allll day. i love their dynamic, it's like a car crash you can't look away from. it's toxic but not in their eyes, they're so blind to it because of nostalgia. snily (whether platonic or romantic) is one of the only places i thjnk we get TRUE lily depth in canon. actual depth beyond being a loving mother. she's someone who loves so so so deeply that she's tearing herself apart to do it and she's unconsciously putting morals aside to stand by him. it's so intricate and complicated and i think it's such a beautiful connection if you're a tragedy lover. toxic? yes. interesting? 100000%

what makes me happy about them:

the complexity mostly but,,, the belonging. the sick sense of belonging that comes from nostalgia. you don't belong there anymore, but you're clinging to it and really this should be in the sad section but i just love the human condition. the desperationnnn to hold onto love even when it's tainted. love me some good tragedy. and ofc, the lily depth it gives.

what makes me sad about them:

all of the above. christttt the emotions she must feel after SWM when she realises her friends were right and the guilt she feels about the fact she took part in it for so long. not her fault ofc, nostalgia and hope make a fool out of all of us, but that doesn't stop the guilt.

who i'd be comfortable with them ending up with if not each other:

sev can go with regulus (purely because i think a deflection arc between the two of them would go so fucking hard) and ofc, snupin

lily is a free gal she can go wherever (i do struggle with romantic snily and jily in the same universe - like dating snape then james? idk i struggle with that but i think if it's something they talk and argue about then i'd be okay with it - we know how i feel about snape when it comes to jily, platonic or not those two have to hash it out)

my happily ever after for them:

non-existent, i'm here for the toxic tragedy

big/little spoon:

lily little spoon so she doesn't have to listen to his shit lmao (like that "missionary so we can keep arguing" meme) no uhh wait actually yeah lily lil spoon but it doesn't happen very often at all

their favourite non-sexual activity:

POTIONSSSS! potion pair <3 they work through sev's book together and also arguing. have i mentioned that they're toxic yet? it's what i love about them if you didn't hear me the first 27471947393038101 times

[turbulenthandholding]

My contribution to "Strange Currencies" | AU day of Sydcarmy Week 2024! Enjoy the start of this silly little witness protection AU.

[unhingedangstaddict]

tease tidbit tuesday

omg kinda late but the amazing @desert--moonchild tagged me and it's still technically tuesday for me so here we go! first time being tagged in something like this!! Here's a tease for the next (unreleased) chapter of I'll Hold Onto You While We Run - my BuckTommy fake dating WITSEC AU

“I say this with the utmost love and respect for women, but girls are so confusing. Sometimes I think it would just be easier to date dudes.” Buck admitted to Lucy as they prepared the bar to open for the day.

Lucy looked over at Buck. “What do you mean?”

“I mean I always try so much, with everything I do, I give it my all. I always try to give my absolute 100% in relationships and I try hard to be there and understand what’s wrong and make things better when they’re bad. And yet women- in my own personal experience- never make it easy. It’s like I’m going through something and I need something from you but I’m not gonna tell you and just expect you to know what I need. Like I’m supposed to be able to read their minds or something.” Buck paused.

Buck took a breath, then continued. “And it’s so complicated because you have to be a gentleman enough that you’re not a douchebag but if you’re too much of a gentleman then you’re assuming they’re incapable and you’re not a feminist. And every woman feels that boundary is set somewhere different. It’s like some big game except every time I think I finally understand the rules they go and change. And don’t get me wrong, I love women, but sometimes I just feel like dating a guy would be easier.”

“So why not date guys then?” Lucy asked like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

“Because I’m not…” Buck trailed off, not wanting to say anything offensive- especially as Lucy had just come out to him in her own very nonchalant, very unbothered way. “I mean there’s nothing wrong with being queer. I have so much respect for the LGBT community. But I’m not a part of it, just an ally. I mean, sure, I’ll check out a hot guy’s ass but that’s normal.”

“What do you mean that’s normal?” Lucy questioned.

“Like everyone does that.” Buck told her. “Why are you so confused?”

[lonelychicago]

first, let's take a moment to appreciate my banner. isn't it so cute and fun???

tagged by the lovelies and incredibly talented @wikiangela @giddyupbuck @hippolotamus thanks for tagging me, babes 💌

here's a snippet from witness protection au bc it's taken over my brain skjsjs

you can find the previous snippets here and here and if you wanna be tagged once i post this fic, you can interact here

"You have any idea of how long I've been looking for you?" Eddie cuts him off, coming to stand next to him and folding his arms across his chest, making the muscles bulge and giving him an edge, making him look a little intimidating but also… hot. "I looked all over town!"

"To be fair, the town isn't that big." Buck smiles a little sheepishly, shrugging and then standing up. He doesn't like Eddie hovering over him like this— Or maybe the problem is that he likes it a little too much.

"No, Buck. Do you realize I'm here because you have an entire criminal enterprise pissed at you?" Eddie spits out, rubbing a hand over his mouth in frustration.

"I know you know this. You worked with them for months while undercover! You know these people are dangerous and you know what they're capable of and what, you decide to run around alone in the woods? Are you dumb?" Eddie looks like he's working himself up all over again— His eyes now are fierce and have a fire in them that Buck feels if the man keeps staring at him like that, Buck will burn on the spot. He'll burn under Eddie's gaze until he's nothing more than ashes.

"Look, I'm sorry. It really wasn't my intention." Buck holds his hands up. "And I really don't want to get you fired—"

"You think this is because of my job? Do you think I'm like this because I was afraid of losing my job?" Eddie asks in disbelief, his tone dripping with frustration and rage and something else that Buck can't really decipher, an undertone that has him tingling all over in the most confusing of ways.

tagging (no pressure): @buddierights @monsterrae1 @cowboy-buddie @cowboy-buck @athenagranted @diazblunt @transbuck @honestlydarkprincess @bigfootsmom @shortsighted-owl @spotsandsocks @the-likesofus @spaceprincessem @alyxmastershipper @heartshapedvows @prettyboybuckley @exhuastedpigeon @thosetwofirefighters @barbiediaz @911onabc @housewifebuck @messyhairdiaz @elvensorceress @disasterbuckdiaz @wildlife4life @jesuisici33 @thewolvesof1998 @devirnis and anyone else who wants to do it! <33

[scary-grace]

Chapters: 22/? Fandom: The Hobbit - All Media Types Rating: Mature Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: Bard the Bowman/Thranduil Characters: Thranduil (Tolkien), Bard the Bowman, Thranduil's Wife, Bard the Bowman's Children, Legolas Greenleaf, Tauriel, Sigrid (Hobbit Movies), Bain of Dale, Tilda (Hobbit Movies), Elrond Peredhel, Celebrían (Tolkien), Arwen Undómiel Additional Tags: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, set in 1977, Historical References, Slow Burn, I'm not joking about the slowness of this slow burn, emergency room physician Thranduil, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, caretaker Bard (in several senses of the term), ELF (extremely long fic), this house may or may not be haunted, this is a 'no archive warnings apply' situation for now Summary:

In the year 1977, following a tragedy that upends his life, former emergency-room physician Thranduil Oropherion purchases a sprawling, centuries-old estate in northern New Hampshire, planning to ship his children off to boarding school and waste away without ever being seen again. His plans go awry immediately thanks to Bard Bowman, the caretaker of the estate, and as an unlikely friendship blooms between them, Thranduil finds himself slowly coming back to life.

His house does the same.

Chapter 22 is here! An excerpt:

Thranduil climbs up onto the porch roof, unlatches his bedroom window, and slides ungracefully in. The light on the nightstand is closer than the switch on the wall, so Thranduil turns it on. A moment later, he gets the shock of his life.

[aliteralsemicolon]

would you ever writer fics for other characters either within or outside of criminal minds?

Character fixations for me are rare. Spencer is the first fictional character I've ever been obsessed with in this way. I fear I've locked in and will probably not be stepping out 🤞😙

[ladylilithprime]

Day 10: Mushrooms

(Part of the Grand Not-Coven of Palo-Alto series.)

SAM WESSON'S GARDEN was a truly spectacular work of time, effort, engineering, and spell work. It was the first thing any visitor to his properly noticed from the street and a favored place for friends and family to gather to spend time together just chatting and enjoying each other's company. Even if you didn't have a lick of sensitivity to the supernatural and mystical energies, the Garden was a visual marvel of growth and care, at least some parts of it always in bloom no matter the season. If you were sensitive to mystical energies, it was a massive nexus of magic, from the carved stones and mosaics that marked out the footpaths and plant beds to the plants themselves. It was the focal point of the wards Sam had built around his house and extended to the house next door where Dean Smith lived, and it was where the anchor stones for the wards Sam maintained around the homes and businesses of his "network friends" and Palo Alto as a whole were kept, continually renewing and recharging with every sunrise, moonrise, and rainfall.

As a licensed herbalist and practicing witch, it was no surprise that the Garden held a lot of the plants and herbs Sam needed for various potions, tinctures, and poultices, grown fresh and harvested with care to dry and preserve. The large glass greenhouse at one end of the Garden, which connected to the main house via the Solarium, held the more "tempermental" plants in their specially warded pots and beds, the ones that Sam's FBI contacts really wanted to pretend didn't exist for one reason or another. There was even a section of the Garden devoted to growing fruits and vegetables which Sam used to cook and gave to or traded with other members of the network. Frankly, the only thing that was surprising to people who had learned the secrets of the Garden was that Sam would need to go anywhere else for some type of plant.

Specifically, mushrooms.

"It's not that there aren't mushrooms in the Garden," Sam explained as he led the way into the woods behind the house, Bones cheerfully bounding ahead before circling back to dance around her favorite human and his friends. "The act of foraging is itself a part of the ritual, much like harvesting. A reaffirmation of life and sustainability amid death and decay as part of the cycle of the natural world."

"And they're really safe to eat?" asked John Castiel Novak curiously, stepping around a fallen branch even as he split his attention between Sam and the mushroom guidebook the witch had given him.

"Some are," Sam nodded, then shrugged. "Some aren't. And some of them are only safe to eat in certain stages of their growth, so pay close attention to that guide book and if you aren't sure ask me or Bones to double check."

"Too bad we don't have a pig along for truffle hunting," Cas's twin, James Constantine Novak joked, and then yelped as the golden retriever abruptly stood up and changed into a golden-haired woman with her hands on her naked hips.

"I'd like to see a hog sniff out the good mushrooms of all types and warn you away from the bad ones even half as well as I can!" she snapped. Then her indignation melted away into a mischievous smirk as she added, "Besides, Dean said he was never doing that again after he got dirt up his nose that was still there when he changed back."

"Bones," Sam groaned as Cas and Jimmy exchanged slightly alarmed looks. To the twins, he explained, "It was a dare from Andy to see if I even could change someone who wasn't my familiar into an animal, and Jess suggested a truffle hog to see if we could find some wild growing truffles to save some money on ingredients. Dean volunteered to be the guinea pig, and, well.... actual pig."

"And it worked?" Jimmy asked with interest. "No negative side effects?"

"Dean gained a better appreciation for vegetables as a food group, so your mileage may vary," Bones snorted, then slipped back into her canine shape with a cheerful yip.

"I, on the other hand, was exhausted, which is the real reason he said never again," Sam explained, getting tandem nods. The twins were well acquainted with Dean's intense protective streak when it came to Sam. "So Bones conspired with Dean to learn the scents of every mushroom in these woods and a few that aren't so she could be my primary hunting partner."

As it should be, Bones whispered in Sam's mind, answering his small smile with a lolling canine grin. Sam may have left the world of hunting behind along with the Winchester name, but there were some aspects he just couldn't give up completely. He rather suspected that, with the way the Novak twins kept coming back with their increasingly flimsy excuses, the hunting world wasn't ready to be done with him, either.

He thought he might could live with that.