Author: Restive Nature
Genre: Crossover
Type: WiP
Shows: Dark Angel and Supernatural
Disclaimer: Neither show represented in this fiction belongs to me. Dark Angel is the product of Cameron/Eglee and Fox, whereas Supernatural is the product of Kripke and The CW. No profits are made from this fiction and it is intended for private enjoyment only.
Story Rating: PG-13 up to NC-17 for language, violence and sexual situations. (All higher rated material will be contained in its own chapter and clearly marked at the beginning of the chapter. PG versions of these chapters will also be available.)
Chapter Rating: PG-13 for language.
Timeline/ Spoilers: This story takes place predominantly in the Supernatural timeline. This means that the Dark Angel structure of post-pulse America does not fit in. The massive changes will be that Manticore is decades ahead of itself and the characters from DA are born much earlier than portrayed on the show. There is no Pulse occurring. Any other changes to the structures or episodes of the shows will be (hopefully) explained within the story itself.
Pairing: Dean/ Max, Sam/ Jess
Summary: Change can be a choice and you never know where the road you choose to take will lead you.
When It Changes
Chapter Twenty-seven
After The Stars Have Fallen
“So what’cha making?” Max asked Jess as she leaned against the counter in the small but somewhat efficient kitchen of Jess and Sam’s apartment.
“Just some treats for later,” Jess smiled as she leaned over to place a full pan in the oven. “Speaking of,” she murmured as she straightened up and set the hot pads she’d been using on the counter. She turned to face Max. “Seeing as how Sam has class tonight, I was wondering if you’d like to come with me tonight?”
“To your party?” Max asked, surprised. Jess nodded enthusiastically. Max thought it over a moment. After the first day there, she’d been helping out, getting Sam moved in. The second day, she’d tried to stay out of their way, which wasn’t hard, since they’d both had classes. Today however, Jess had only one class, in the morning, which she had already attended. Sam had a shift at the store he was currently working at, then an afternoon and evening class. She hadn’t really made any plans, other than maybe wandering around Palo Alto for a while.
“Well,” she sighed. “I wouldn’t want to intrude.” Jess had mentioned the party to Sam last evening, in the privacy of the bedroom, but since she hadn’t made an effort to be quiet, Max had overheard. It was more of a ‘remember that I have these plans’, type of thing, instead of a ‘what am I going to do with our guest’. But Max was still a little unsure about putting herself in that position where Jess felt like she had to entertain Max.
“It wouldn’t be,” Jess assured her with a soft smile. “Remember Allie from the diner?” Max nodded. “Well, all of us girls try to throw together a party of some sort where it’s just us. No guys allowed. We all contribute something snack wise, the hostess provides a few bottles of cheap wine and we kick back and have ourselves a good gossip.”
Max smiled wanly. It didn’t quite sound like her cup of tea. And by the way Jess’ grin widened, she realized that too.
“Don’t worry,” she chuckled. “It’s not as bad as it sounds. See the thing is, it’s Allie’s turn to host and lately she’s been on one of those ‘party to sell things’ kind of kick.”
Max’s brow furrowed as she tried to puzzle out what Jess was referring to. Fortunately, the blonde seemed to have an uncanny knack for getting the gist of a person’s emotions before words could be said.
“Have you ever been to a Mary Kay or Avon party before?” she asked gently. Max shook her head.
“Growing up with Dad and two brothers…” she trailed off suggestively. “Wasn’t big on the list of priorities.”
“I can imagine that,” Jess shook her head. “Well basically all it is, is the representative comes to your house during the party and displays and talks about the wares she’s selling. Usually make-up or household products.”
“Didn’t you tell Sam that it was a candle party?” Max asked suddenly, part of the breakfast conversation starting to make sense.”
Jess’ lips pursed as she fought to hide a grin. “Yeah. That’s what I told him.”
Something suggestive in her tone caught Max’s attention. “But it’s not,” she inferred slowly.
“No, actually its Allie’s latest passion,” Jess shrugged. “Undercover Wear.” At Max’s puzzled look, she explained further. “You know, underwear, nightgowns, and the dainties.” She turned to start cleaning up the ingredients that she’d been using. “We never tell the guys when it’s that kind of party. Couldn’t you just imagine? They’d be inviting themselves over, trying to get a good ogle at the girls and stuff.”
Max laughed. Yeah, she could certainly see why they kept it quiet. “But what happens when you don’t bring home any candles?”
“Oh,” Jess grinned sheepishly. “It’s all got to be ordered through the mail. Reps usually don’t carry that big an inventory. So I either tell Sam that I didn’t see anything I liked, it was too expensive, or I wait a few days, go down to the mall and buy something at the candle shop down there.”
Max blinked a few times, surprised at how easily Jess seemed to feel about deceiving her brother. And Jess apparently realized how badly that sounded.
“I’m sorry,” he blushed. “It’s just, you know your brother. I mean, he’s okay about a lot of stuff, but that still makes him uncomfortable.”
“I’m sure he enjoys the end result though,” Max teased with a wicked glint in her eye. Jess continued to blush but nodded enthusiastically. But another thought occurred to her. “But why would it bother him so much? I mean, he had to deal with all of my, actually somewhat limited, female issues.”
“Yeah, but you’re his sister,” Jess pointed out equanimically. “It’s different when it’s a girlfriend. All part of the intimacy thing.”
“So I take it you haven’t asked him to stop and pick up tampons for you yet, then?” Max chuckled. Jess arched her eyebrow, almost as if she could sense a story behind the inference.
“I might at some point,” Jess grinned. As she put the bowl she’d been mixing in into the sink to rinse, she glanced back over her shoulder at the younger woman. “So, would you be interested? Allie told me she’d be happy to see you again.”
“Well,” Max tilted her head to the side as she made her decision. “If you guys don’t mind, it sounds like it could be fun.”
“Perfect!” Jess beamed at her. “It’s all set then.”
*****
John was seated at the table, perusing some newspapers from around the country, planning what their next move would be. There had been something in one of the articles that had caught his attention and he was peeved that he couldn’t exactly recall which paper it had been. Dean, usually the more laid back of the pair, wasn’t his usual self today. Oh it was true, he was lazing on the bed, idly flipping through the television channels, but his usual commentary was lacking. It was nice in a way, since John didn’t have to apply the part of his brain that he normally did in tuning out the chatter. Instead, that part of his brain was mulling over Dean’s quietness. Best as he could figure, his son’ mind was somewhere a few hundred miles south of their current position. And even as he thought it, the chirp of his cell phone perked up his attention and his hand reached out to snag it.
He grinned when he saw the number and snapped open the phone. “Hello?”
“Hey Dad,” Max greeted him cheerfully.
“Hey sweetie,” he returned. He caught sight of Dean straightening up in his peripheral vision, the television being instantly muted. “What’s up?”
“Oh, just thought I’d give you an update,” Max replied, her voice seeming exuberantly happier.
“Update on what?” he asked gently, his free hand still rearranging the newspapers.
“Sammy’s new girlfriend.”
“His new what?” John asked, thrown a little. Sure, he’d realized that a girlfriend would probably be part of the packaged new life Sam had made for himself. But he wasn’t expecting to hear about it. But then, Max was in the perfect position right now to keep him even more informed about his son’s life.
“Well, she doubles as a roommate too,” Max chuckled.
“What!” That John had certainly not been expecting, though he did have a good chuckle as well as Max related the situation she had arrived in. After she had finished, he asked,” so what have you three got planned tonight then?”
“Well, Sam has class so Jess is taking me to a party,” Max recounted.
“A party?” John was instantly worried. Not that Max couldn’t take care of herself, but some of those college parties could be, well, wild.
“Oh not like that,” Max assured her father. “Like Avon or Mary Kay.”
John gave a relieved little laugh, and then laughed harder at Max’s indignant protest. “Sorry sweetie,” he apologized. “It’s just; I can’t quite see you sitting around trying on all that make-up goop.”
“What?” Max demanded suddenly. Then the phone was muffled a bit as she was obviously talking to someone else. “You didn’t say that I’d have to try stuff on!” He could plainly hear the panic in her voice and he laughed again. There was a decidedly feminine response and Max spoke again. “Gah! You guys shouldn’t scare me like that.”
“Well just as long as you don’t come back with your face looking like a clown, then we should be okay,” John decided.
“Max doesn’t need make-up to look gorgeous,” Dean huffed quietly from his seat on the bed, proving to his father that he was quite obviously easily following along with his father’s end of the conversation. John flashed his son a grin, completely in agreement, and then turned back to the conversation at hand.
“So have you guys decided where we’re headed next?” Max asked softly. Obviously she couldn’t ask outright what she wanted to, what with Sammy’s girlfriend probably right there.
“There’ve been a few things,” John admitted. “We should probably take care of them pretty soon.” He left it as a suggestion. He wasn’t about to order her back to them.
“Hmm,” Max sighed. “Let’s see. I’m auditing a class with Sam tomorrow,” she recounted. “He got special permission for me to attend from the professor. And then Jess and I were going to go shopping at the mall at some point. And then, Sammy made reservations for us at the Kow Loon for two nights from now.”
“So you’re booked for the next few days then, huh?” John asked wryly.
“Yeah I-!” Max broke off suddenly and the call was muffled again. “Get out of there! You touch those and I’ll kick your butt!”
“Max!” John was shocked at the sudden turnaround in his daughter’s attitude to her hostess.
“Sorry Dad,” Max rejoined. “Sammy was trying to steal some of the cookies that I was making for the party tonight.”
Oh, well that was a little more acceptable. But… “You’re making cookies?”
“Yeah!” Max enthused. “Jess is teaching me how to bake.”
“Well, that’s awful kind of her,” John grinned. He hoped the girl had better talent in the kitchen than his poor family did.
“I mean it Sammy!” Max suddenly growled. “I’m watching you. Your cookies are in the cookie jar” A pause. “I already told Dad. And if you keep it up, I’ll tell Jess. And she won’t kick your butt. She’ll just cut off the nookie!”
John choked on a sudden spurt of laughter as he listened to the interesting byplay of his kids. He cleared his throat as the incident seemed to be resolved between them. “So I take it, this Jess is a pretty formidable young woman?”
“Yeah, I like her Dad,” Max sighed, though it was a happy sound. “She and Sam are really good together. Although they could just be on their best behavior since I’m here.”
“That could be,” he answered non-committed. People were always a little different when they had company.
“Well, as I was going to say,” Max continued, picking up the thread of their earlier conversation. “If you guys need to head out, Sam said I can stay as long as needed. You can come get me when you’re done or I can meet up with you somewhere.”
“Well, there are a few cases that need some immediate attention,” John mulled over the idea. Several things were going through his mind. One, that Max was finally getting the chance to experience some of the more normal things in life, and yet she still intended to come back to this life they were living. Two; that she would be well taken care of in Palo Alto. And thirdly, with the lack of mentioning Dean, she still wasn’t ready to deal with that situation. A little more time apart wouldn’t hurt anything. “So that sounds like a plan. We’ll just keep in touch and let you know when we’re back this way.”
“Okay,” it wasn’t his imagination that his daughter sounded immensely relieved. “Oh, I’ve got to go Dad, or this batch will burn. Love you.”
“Love you too sweetie,” John replied instantly. “Have fun at the party.” He hung up and turned to his son. “Let’s pack up.”
“She’s not coming back yet?” Dean asked quietly, though he knew the answer already.
“Nope,” John admitted baldly. “But she certainly intends to.”
*****
“So how was the class?” Jess asked as she met up with Max at the main entrance to the mall.
“Not bad,” Max grinned. After the party the evening before and the resulting flow of wine, Max had been able to relax a certain amount and really enjoy herself. She and Jess were definitely forming their own bond, outside of their connection because of Sam. And from what Sam had been saying earlier, before the class he had petitioned to bring Max into, he couldn’t be happier about it.
“Was it what you expected?”
“Better actually,” Max replied thoughtfully. “The last time I was actually in a class, it was all the teacher asks the questions, kids sit there mute.”
“Oh yeah,” Jess nodded as they made their way inside. “Sam mentioned you guys were home-schooled. What was that like?”
“Really cool,” Max enthused. “Dad used to take us to all these different places. Museums and stuff. And since Sam and I could get through the work really quickly, we didn’t have to spend all our days inside doing busy work.”
“Ah, must have been nice,” Jess mockingly pouted. “I had twelve years of teachers like that. So, did going to a real college class jump start any ambitions?”
If this hadn’t been a topic of conversation between her and Sam the previous evening, Max might have felt a little disgruntled at Jess’ asking. But she wasn’t. “Not really,” Max sighed. “I don’t mind learning about new stuff. And the forum of the open class that professor subscribes to is nice, but I still felt all cooped up.”
Jess shrugged, unconcerned. “Some people are like that. They either just learn better on their own or prefer to learn whatever life throws at them. And it’s not like you couldn’t do it later. You’re still young.”
“What made you decide to go ahead with college?” Max asked curiously. She certainly knew why Sam was going.
“My parents expect it,” Jess quipped. “And they’re paying for most of it. And with a degree, the job possibilities are a lot better, not to mention the wages.” Max nodded along with her. She could certainly understand that. Doing what they did was not exactly a high-profile, profitable venture. It’s why they survived the way they did. Not that she was going to tell Jess that. It had been clear to her from moment one that Sam had no intention of cluing Jess in about certain parts of his past.
Jess made some murmur over something and Max dutifully stopped while Jess pulled a shirt from the rack closest to the entryway of the store. As Max glanced at it, something caught her attention and her brows furrowed together. A woman, quite statuesque was standing, looking at another display not too far away from them. A woman that Max could have sworn that she had seen earlier that day on the campus when she and Sam had arrived for the class she was taking in. The woman had watched her approach to the door she was seated by, but when Max had smiled at her, the woman had looked away.
At the time, she had seemed only a little out of place. She’d been dressed a little more, well, elegantly than the rest of the student population. She was still now dressed in the soft lilac blouse and pencil slim black skirt that she’d worn earlier. Max had to admit that it set off her skin and black hair nicely. But now she was interested for an entirely different reason than wondering what a lady like that was attending college for.
Even as she watched, the woman glanced at her, and then immediately dropped her gaze again. Her cell phone must have rang though and the woman removed her purse from her shoulder to retrieve it. She answered and her eyes darted back to Max and away again in a suspicious manner.
“Max?” Jess’ voice brought her out of her reverie. “You okay?”
“Yeah,” Max stated a little too loudly, but quieted her tone. “Have you ever seen that girl before?” she asked with a gentle gesture towards the other woman. “I could swear that she’s following me.” She made it a jest, but with her past, caution was the only way she could go.
Jess looked over at the woman and gave a little smile of recognition. “Oh yes. Monique Fournier.”
Max was a little startled by the sudden icy tone and frosty demeanor that Jess was giving off. “So I take it you do know her?”
Jess gave a rueful little laugh. “Yeah, she’s in a couple of Sam’s classes. She started throwing herself at him the moment they met.”
“Really?” Max drawled out, delighted with this development. At least it wasn’t what she had feared, that Manticore had somehow figured out where she was. But still… it didn’t hurt to engage in a little paranoia. “Sammy the babe magnet!”
Jess flushed but giggled along with her. “Yeah, you know, he was so polite, trying to be nice about it, but she made him so uncomfortable. She’s French, and didn’t seem to speak a lot of English. At least that’s the impression she gives off to the guys. I’ve heard her hold entire conversations in English and never once make a mistake.”
“So she bears watching, huh?” Max sympathized.
“Oh, I can hold my own if she ever wants to get into it,” Jess waggled her eyebrows spiritedly at her friend. Max suddenly was struck by just how perfect this woman was for her brother and she did something she’d never done with an outsider before. She leaned forward and hugged Jess, who puzzled by the sudden gesture, returned it none the less.
“You are so awesome,” Max giggled. “And Sam is so lucky to have found you.”
“Thanks,” the grin on Jess’ face was huge. “I feel pretty darn lucky too.”
So maybe the gesture was warranted, because all of a sudden, Jess just wasn’t such an outsider anymore.
“So, to the candle shop then?” Max asked. Even if Jess wasn’t too worried about this Monique girl, Max resolved to keep an eye on the girl, who had now finished off her phone call and was heading past them with a determined stride. She’d had ample opportunity to study human nature and something inside her screamed that this girl, whoever she was, needed to be watched.
“May as well,” Jess nodded. Carefree, they continued to chat as they made their way through the mall.
They arrived at the candle shop and Max, who’d never really had occasion or excuse to look over candles, was stunned to see how much they cost. That led to Jess explaining why these candles, large and elegant, scented and decorated, were a little pricier than plain old tapers.
As Max watched, Jess lingered near one attractive display, though it wasn’t all candles. She’d fingered the price tag, sighed to herself, let it drop, but Max could see that Jess really liked the little tabletop waterfall. Inspiration struck her as she approached.
“That looks cool,” she enthused as she scanned the mechanism that recycled the water through the fountain.
“Yeah it is,” Jess agreed. “Sam had one of those little waterfalls. He said it was soothing, helped him study. But Rick broke it and he never got another.”
“So he’d like it too?” Max asked casually.
“Oh yeah,” Jess nodded. “We could put it on the desk. The light would be right over it. It’d be nice. But,” she heaved a long-suffering sigh, “it’s just a little too pricey at the moment.”
Intrigued, Max flipped over the price tag. Her eyebrows flew up as she realized that Jess was indeed right. Way more than she’d been expecting. But then again, everything on the West Coast seemed to cost either more than she was used to, or more than she expected. Not that it was a problem for her. If she didn’t like it, she could just move on to somewhere else.
“So does it come in a kit or something?” she asked. “Or do you have to buy all this stuff separately.”
“No, it’s all together,” Jess answered. “I suppose if I would quit buying so many frilly little things, I’d be able to get this.”
“Hey, those frillies serve a purpose too, don’t they?” Max quipped, causing Jess to laugh. While the girl was recovering, Max leaned down to the section underneath the display table and pulled out a box containing the very fountain that Jess wanted. She caught Jess’ startled gaze. “Consider it my housewarming gift.”
“Oh no, Max,” she protested at once. “You don’t have to.”
“I know,” the teen smiled. “And that’s why it’s so much fun. I can because I want to.” Not giving Jess any more chances to protest or demure, she headed over to the cash register with it. Once she realized though, that Max had no intention of backing down on the issue, she busied herself finding some shades of glass pebbles to line the bottom of the fountain with. She ended up with three pouches, one in green, one in blue and the last in a deep amethyst. Max was reaching for them, but Jess held them back.
“You’ve already done enough,” Jess grinned. “These were my idea.”
“All right,” Max grinned. She had no idea what Jess was doing with bags of rocks, but she was sure if she were patient, she’d find out.
Once again giggling as they left the store, Jess suggested that they put the fountain in her car and then head over to the largest clothing chain to do some browsing. Max agreed, so that she could have her hands free as she shopped. It wasn’t something that she chanced to do as often as people seemed to expect of her. That didn’t mean that she didn’t enjoy it occasionally. And shopping with another woman was much different than shopping with three impatient men.
Once they entered the store, Max found that they were near a cosmetic counter. That wouldn’t have been a problem, except that they ran smack dab into the infamous Monique.
Who just happened to be furnishing a spray bottle of perfume in her hand. Max noted that there seemed to be some brass plated nametag on her blouse, though it was obscured by the length of silken black hair curling around it.
“Bonjour Jessica,” Monique greeted with a grin that could only be called predatory.
“Monique,” Jess’ tone was once again frosty. She moved to step around the other woman, but Monique stepped into her way again and held the tiny perfume bottle aloft, but her attention was obviously elsewhere. Max casually followed her glance and saw that just down the aisle, a guy, wearing dark slacks and a white dress shirt and tie was watching them. Max could see the nametag he wore, indicating that he was an employee as well. Could he have been Monique’s boss perhaps?
“Voulez vous aimez essayer une partie de notre nouveau parfum ‘Ambrasé’?” Monique asked suddenly in her native tongue. Without waiting for an answer, she liberally dosed both Max and Jess with the perfume she held.
Max, having never been the recipient of unwanted scenting before, even Rumsfeld knew better than to try that, didn’t have a chance to defend against it. Jess, seeing what was coming, was able to turn her head away, but it caught Max fully in the face. She sneezed. Violently. But through the sudden fit, she could definitely see the satisfied look on Monique’s face as she abruptly moved off, calling out in French to another customer, never once looking back at them.
Jess grabbed Max by the arm and managed to steer her away from the flow of customers as the younger girl continued to sneeze. “Oh God,” Max gasped. “That stuff is foul.”
“That Monique,” Jess growled. “What a bitch!”
Max tried to laugh suddenly, through the sneezing fit, but it ended up more sounding like a sick mule. Jess tried to hide a grin but failed. “Are you okay?” she asked solicitously. Max sneezed once more and then nodded.
“I’ll be fine,” she assured the blonde, after finally drawing in a long deep breath. “I just wasn’t expecting that.”
“You’re right though,” Jess noticed as she grimaced over the scent that lingered around her friend. “That stuff is gross.”
Max, trying to breathe shallowly nodded. “Yeah, do you mind if we skip any more shopping so I can go shower.”
“Not at all,” Jess stated emphatically. As one, they turned on their heels and headed back to Jess’ car and Max’s bike. They headed back to the apartment and once Jess had opened the door, Max made a beeline for the bathroom.
Once inside, she stripped, thinking that she’d have to also wash her clothes immediately. She shook her head as she stepped under the warm spray. She’d always figured that French perfumes at the very least, were supposed to be light, fragrant and appealing. But this whatever that Monique had sprayed her with was so musky, it was definitely not marketable. The odor clung to her like she was walking through a sticker bush. Or maybe like burrs, or Velcro. Whatever the proper metaphor was, Max didn’t care. All she wanted was the good clean, familiar scent of her own soap.
Jess was busy setting up the gift that Max had given them when she heard a key in the lock. She straightened up from where she was leaned over and smiled when Sam entered. His face puzzled and then brightened when he saw her.
“Hey,” he greeted as he came over to drop a kiss on her lips. “I thought you guys were going shopping.”
“We did,” Jess muttered dryly. “Had to cut it short though.”
“How come?”
“Monique struck again,” Jess snarled. Sam could see the warning signs of a rant coming on. Thankfully, for him, the woman’s attentions had moved on shortly after Jess had made it clear to the woman that Sam most definitely was not interested. It wasn’t like he hadn’t tried that himself, but the woman had never seemed to get the hints. Perhaps Jess’ full on confrontational style was better suited for that sort of thing. But Sam just had a hard time saying stuff like that to women.
“What’d she do?” he asked, amused. He was quite sure that whatever had happened, Jess and Max could handle themselves. But if Jess had explained the situation to Max, he knew he was in for some teasing from his sister.
“She got a job at the department store, selling perfume,” Jess explained. “She tried to spray this foul junk on us.” She lifted her arm for Sam to smell. He was making a disgusted face before she could even get her sleeve close enough to his nose.
Sam jerked his head back and waved his hand in front of his face to dispel the scent. “Oh that’s disgusting.”
“Well it certainly won’t sell at all,” Jess decided. “If it actually was the real perfume she was supposed to be selling. She caught Max with it full on, in the face.”
“Poor kid,” Sam commiserated. “Bet she was pissed off.”
“She was too busy trying not to sneeze herself to death,” Jess smiled. “I hope she’s not allergic or something. She’s showering right now.”
“I don’t think she is,” Sam was thoughtful for a moment. “I don’t know. Max was never into girly things like perfume and make-up and stuff.” He noticed his girlfriend’s raised eyebrow. “Not that there’s anything wrong with it. Just, she never had a woman around to share this stuff with.”
“I know,” Jess assured him as her face brightened. “She mentioned it a few times. I guess I can’t quite get it, since I’ve still got my mom. Just really lucky that way,” she ended softly, already wrapping her arms around Sam’s waist. She knew that he was a little sensitive about the subject about family, his in particular. But knowing how he’d lost his mother when he was a baby and then with his father never remarrying, she could certainly sympathize. She didn’t know what she’d do if she lost her mother.
“And I’m lucky to have you,” Sam murmured into her hair as he relaxed his body against hers. They stayed that way for a moment until they heard the shower turn off.
Oh!” Jess suddenly cried out, pulling back to look up at her boyfriend. “Look what Max gave us as a housewarming gift. She half-turned so that Sam could see the water fountain that Jess had been eying every time they stopped at the mall.
“Oh cool,” Sam enthused. He’d had a look at it as well, agreeing with Jess that it was a little too pricey at the time. But still he was happy that Max had picked up on Jess’ interest in it. He also saw that they’d gotten the little glass pebbles that Jess had wanted to decoratively line the bottom with. She’d chosen the blue to start with. Sam didn’t mind, all he had wanted was the soothing sound of the water.
“So you do like it?” his sister asked from behind him. Sam glanced behind himself and smiled at Max. She looked like a drowned rat, fresh out of the shower as she was. Her hair was hanging in moist clumps around her shoulders and her skin was pink, as if it had been scrubbed heartily.
“It’s awesome!” he grinned. He straightened up and turned to face her fully. “But you’re sure…” He trailed off, not quite sure how to put his query. Max seemed puzzled for a moment, until she realized what Sam was asking.
“Hey Sammy,” she teased, “you know me. I mean, I am the one who raised the cash to buy a motorcycle in just a few weeks. Remember?”
“What?” Jess asked, having followed along with the conversation fairly easily. She’d been sort of worried too, that Max might be spending her limited cash on them and had already decided to get around her attempts to buy groceries and stuff for them.
“Oh, didn’t Sam tell you?” Max wrinkled her nose. Jess shook her head. “I’m a certified genius, whose main genius happens to be making money. At least at the moment.”
“Really?” Jess grinned. “That must be a nice talent.”
“Well it certainly doesn’t hurt my feelings,” Max laughed. “I’m gonna go get dressed. And then I need to throw my clothes in the wash. They’re almost as bad as my hair was.”
Jess nodded sympathetically. “As soon as I’m done setting this up, I think I’ll do that as well. That stuff is so disgusting.”
Max smiled again and turned away to retrieve her duffel bag. She hadn’t been expecting Sam to be home yet, or she would have taken her clothes in the bathroom with her. But it wasn’t that unfamiliar a situation, living in close quarters as they did for so long. At least Sam had never walked in on her after a shower as…
Max closed her eyes momentarily against the brief surge of some fathomless emotion that seemed to play across her very skin. She had sworn to herself that she wasn’t going to think about Dean. Not right now. Someday soon, yes. Like tomorrow. That was always a good day, because it always became today and then she’d never have to worry about it. Just leave it to tomorrow.
But she knew she was deluding herself. She couldn’t go back to Dad and Dean until she had worked these feelings for him, feelings that had had five years to grow, out of her system. That she had no clue how to accomplish this was one of the major boulders in her way.
It wasn’t so much that she had to worry about herself. She had after all been trained since birth to compartmentalize her feelings. She’d done so for long enough around her family that she had been pretty sure that they hadn’t a clue. Except for that comment that John had made the morning she left. But then, John was practically a genius at figuring these things out. Max chuckled ruefully to herself. She should be grateful that John hadn’t fully turned that talent to discovering her past. If he’d ever had one hint that she was more than she seemed, or that there was more to Manticore than genetic testing, he would have been on the trail like a bloodhound. He wouldn’t have given in or given up. At lest until Manticore had caught wind of his snooping and eliminated him. So it was a thankful Max who silently graced whatever deity that she could think of when John had cast aside his interest in the government funded project.
She sighed heavily to herself, realizing that she had once again managed to distract herself from her original topic of internal debate. She was getting awfully good at that. It was too bad that Manticore had wired her in the talent of parallel processing. She wondered then, how many conversations she actually could keep track of without screwing up and there she went again.
Fingering the edge of a bright blue t-shirt, Max realized that given the givens, there was no way that this whole situation could have a positive outcome. At best, all she could do was steel her nerves and face whatever came her way with her head held high. If it ended in the demolition of everything she had built in this world, well, she’d just find a way to build a new life. She had been a Manticore soldier, now a Winchester. Survival was all she knew.
*****
“Well good riddance I say,” Max drawled as Sam pulled open the front door of the diner. Max entered the establishment, grateful for the warmer air. Even though it was February in California, the air had a decided chilly nip to it. Sam followed in after her, continuing the discussion they’d been having since he’d returned to the apartment and asked her to go out for lunch with him.
“Well I still wonder why she dropped out,” Sam shrugged, unzipping his jacket. “But really, it’s nice not to have to plan my day to try and avoid her.”
“The path of least resistance, huh?” Max chuckled wryly. She caught Allie’s eye and nodded to the woman. She really was a nice person, if a bit overenthusiastic about some things.
“Hey Allie!” Sam called. He motioned to a booth and the pair of them took a seat, pulling the menus from between the napkin dispenser and the salt shaker.
“You know, maybe she realized that technically, what she did to me was assault and didn’t want to have to deal with that hassle,” Max grinned.
“Spraying you with perfume wasn’t assault,” Sam corrected, though he wore a matching grin. “It was just rude. And you can’t have Monique arrested for that.”
“What about for giving me a cold?” Max quipped. Sam smiled at her. For the first time in a long time, his sister had been sick. And not the serious sick in which he feared for her life. Surprisingly, she handled it fairly well. Granted, it was just a lot of sneezing and a running nose and a mild headache. Jess had sympathized and made her homemade chicken soup, but aside from that, Max had just gone on like nothing was wrong.
“Yet again, not an arrestable offense,” Sam mockingly sighed. “Although if you give it to me…” he warned threateningly. Max grinned and leaned across the table, deliberately sneezing in her brother’s face. Sam leaned back, squinting at her. “You are so gross. No wonder you and Dean get along so well.”
Max sniffed heavily, her eyes dropping to the table. “Yeah,” she murmured softly. But what else was there to say? That they’d gotten along so well that they’d gotten well past the point of sibling bonding? Definitely not something she could share about one brother to another. She shuddered mildly as she contemplated just how Sam would react to that. To say he’d be freaked out, and given what he’d seen in his life, that would be hard to pull off, but nonetheless, she didn’t figure that he’d handle it well.
“Are you cold?” Sam asked solicitously, seeing her shiver.
“Hmm?” Max asked, glancing back up from where she’d been pretending to peruse the menu. “Oh, yeah, a little. I’ll probably try that chowder you were raving about.” They were quiet for a moment as Allie approached to take their order. They joked around with her for a few minutes and then the girl left to get them their drinks.
“So actually,” Max drawled, after putting her menu back. “What I’m really wondering, is why you suddenly felt compelled to drag me out for lunch? We could have stayed at the apartment.”
“Oh, there’s no reason,” Sam tried to assure her hastily. “Can’t a guy just take one of his two favorite girls out to eat?”
“Uh uh,” Max grunted. “I know you want to talk to me about something Sammy. Just spit it out. Do you guys need me to take off? Am I getting underfoot too much?”
“Oh no!” Sam denied and even though it was so quick, Max could see the sincerity in his eyes. “We love having you with us. I mean, you’ve been about anyone’s idea of the perfect houseguest. You help pay for groceries, you clean up after yourself, you bought us dinner. You even deliberately wanted to see a movie that Jess and I weren’t interested in.” His grin turned wicked. “Yeah, I figured it out. It was nice of you to give us so much, um-“
“Alone time?” Max asked in a saccharine tone. Sam flushed a little and laughed.
“Yeah, that,” he said pointedly.
Max grinned. Jess was right. Sammy did still have a little trouble with other people knowing intimate things about him, or Jess, or him and Jess. It was interesting to her that this slight wedge had grown between them. Or perhaps, given the amount of time since they’d seen each other, it had just happened naturally. Sam had had the chance to get used to a life where he wasn’t in close quarters with people all the freaking time. He could keep secrets if he wanted to and not have to worry about a family member constantly hounding him to figure it out. And he’d made a lot more friends here than he had growing up, constantly on the move. Any secrets he did wish to divulge, he could spread them around a little more. And lastly, he had Jess. That was natural as well; that he’d start to turn to someone he was intimate with. It struck Max that all the while Sammy had been moving forward, she’d done the reverse. She and Dean had had the mental intimacy as family, friends and people who genuinely liked one another and then she’d fouled it up by allowing the physical intimacy. And now, she had nothing.
“So if it’s not that,” Max continued, determined to shake off her maudlin mood, “what is it then?”
Sam drew in a deep breath, like a skydiver ready to take the plunge. “Well, what I was wondering was, what are your plans. For the future I mean?
“My plans?” Max echoed hollowly.
“Yeah,” Sam continued on, warming to his subject. “I mean, aside from telling Dad that you’d meet up with them later, you haven’t really talked about heading back that way. And I was wondering if maybe, you were, you know, thinking that maybe you’d like to do something different.”
“Like what?” Max couldn’t help the sharpness in her voice. For once, Sammy had actually taken her by surprise.
“Well, you could stick around here, get a job maybe,” Sam suggested. “You seem to enjoy sticking around in one place. It hasn’t been so bad, has it?”
Max shook her head. No, it had actually been pretty nice, not always being on the go.
“Or, you could, well there’s always school,” Sam continued. “I mean I know the classes I’m taking aren’t your thing, but there’s plenty of choice. Maybe you could even get into Stanford. Any college really. With your I.Q., they’d be head over heels to get you, right Max. Max?” Having sensed that he’d lost her somewhere, Sam studied his sister who was now staring over his shoulder.
Wondering what could have possibly grabbed her attention so completely, Sam half-turned in his seat to follow her gaze. Which seemed to be riveted to the television playing softly behind the counter. As Sam tried to focus on what seemed to be a news bulletin, Max sprang from her seat and hurried to the counter. Feeling a strange sense of foreboding in the pit of his stomach, Sam followed swiftly.
“Allie!” Max’s voice was quiet with a sort of repressed panic that Sam had rarely ever heard from her. “Can you turn that up? Please!”
Allie, unsure about what was going on, shrugged to herself and reached over to turn up the volume. Few people came in here to watch the news, but it didn’t bother her any.
Max felt her breath, heavy in her chest as suddenly there was noise along with the terrifying image that had just played out across the screen.
A female’s voice was heard, “…startling footage was released to the press only this morning. The footage, caught by one of the test units of the ‘Hover Drones’, was taken in the city of Seattle, Washington. This has led many supporters of the new ‘Hover Drones’ to proclaim that while this crime was in itself a tragedy, it would never have been made public if indeed, the ‘Hover Drone’ hadn’t been there.” The woman blathered on as the footage replayed, asking that if anyone had information on the victim or the suspects of this crime, they were urged to contact the Seattle police department.
But all anyone could seem to focus on was the gritty, darkened drama playing out before their faces. A group of people were out on the Space Needle. Actually out on the platform, stationed high above the city. There was gunplay, some sort of contention over an object and then horrifyingly, someone fell.
Sam had to admit that it didn’t look good, whoever the poor person was. But he didn’t see the relevance until he turned to confront his sister, only to see tears streaming down her cheeks. “Max?” his concern colored his voice, low and deep.
“Seth,” she whispered; her voice tiny and broken. She continued to stare at the screen and Sam’s eyebrows furrowed, trying to make the connection.
“Wait! Your brother Seth?” he demanded, disbelievingly. How on earth had she arrived at that conclusion? You could barely tell from that tape if the people were male or female.
“I have to go,” Max declared suddenly. She turned on her heel and hurried from the diner.
“Max, wait!” Sam called after her. Without any thought but catching his sister, he rushed after her.
“Guess I’ll be canceling that order,” Allie muttered to herself as she turned the volume on the set back down.
*****
Jess, who had been relaxing on the couch, curled up with a book she’d been meaning to read, was startled by the sudden commotion at the door. She’d been vaguely aware of the noise on her floor of the apartment complex, but when the sudden banging on her door began, she was quite taken by surprise. Just as she was rising from the couch to open the door, it opened from without and all she saw was a blur as Max dashed to the corner where her bag was stashed, and a concerned Sam following after removing his key from the door.
“Max!” Sam called. “Would you please just stop a second?”
Jess glanced back and forth between the two of them, her expression crestfallen. She knew very well what Sam had taken Max out to lunch to discuss, and since she had encouraged it in her own way, she now wondered if she was partly responsible for what appeared to be a rent between the siblings.
“I can’t,” Max shook her head. “I have to go.”
Jess nibbled at her lower lip. This did not sound good at all. She tried to catch Sam’s eye, but he wasn’t paying attention to her.
“Max, you don’t even know for sure that it was him,” Sam pointed out heatedly. And there Jess’ puzzlement began.
“It was,” was the teen’s short reply. She hurried into the bathroom to grab the necessities that she’d left in there, most importantly her tryptophan.
“What’s going on?” Jess asked quietly, once Sam’s object of attention had disappeared momentarily.
Sam sighed and turned to his girlfriend. “There was an accident, on the news, in Seattle. Max thinks that it was her brother Seth who fell and-!”
“It was him,” Max declared again as she re-entered the room, her hands full.
“Wait,” Jess interrupted. “Her brother?” Both siblings paused and looked to her in surprise.
“You didn’t tell her I was adopted?” Max asked in surprise.
“It never came up,” Sam shrugged. Jess blinked away the surprise, starting to get a feel for things now. “But Max, you can’t know for sure.”
“That’s why I have to go,” she protested. “I have to find out.”
“Well you could call the police department,” Sam suggested. “You don’t have to go tearing off.
Jess watched the byplay of emotion on her boyfriend’s face and realized that it wasn’t that he didn’t believe his sister. He was just scared for her and what discoveries she might make. There was no way, with his schedule of classes and work that he cold follow her to Seattle immediately, so instead, he wanted to keep her there, where he could help and protect her in some measure. Her heart swelled anew with the love she felt for him.
“Sam,” she spoke softly, stepping to his side. He glanced down at her. “Honey, what would you do if you’d thought Dean had fallen and might be dead?” It was harsh, but she felt that it needed to be said.
Sam swallowed heavily. There’d been nights in his life since being separated from his family that he’d had nightmares like that. In the daytime too. The sudden realization that anything could happen to your family, whether you were there or not was a sobering one. “I’d be there in a heartbeat,” he admitted softly. That admission seemed to steel him. “You’re right.” He turned to his sister. “Go. Go check it out. I just hope…” He left it unsaid.
Max very hurriedly finished her packing. Sam and Jess followed her out to where her bike was parked. Sam helped her fix the duffel bag on the back of the bike. His quiet, terse questions ensured that she had everything she needed. Jess simply told her to call if she needed anything. Sam echoed the sentiment a moment later.
“Actually,” Max spoke up suddenly. “Could you do something for me?”
“Anything,” Sam assured her. She worried at her lip a moment and then took a deep breath.
“Could you call Dad?” she asked carefully. “Let him know what happened? I’m probably not going to stop too often.”
Sam swallowed heavily, rapidly thinking through her request. He hadn’t talked to his father since the day he’d walked out to go to college. But right now, that didn’t matter. The possible death of one of Max’s family superseded everything. He nodded. “Yeah, I can do that.” The relief in Max’s face was extremely evident, along with the knowledge that she had asked him to do something fairly huge for her. With a quick peck on the cheek and a hug for each of them, Max straddled her bike and was ready to go.
“Drive safe,” Jess told her sternly, though she did soften the directive with a sad smile.
“Call me when you get there,” Sam’s was completely an order, but an understandable one. Max nodded. She started the engine and slowly pulled away. Sam and Jess watched until she had disappeared around the corner, then they regarded each other for a moment before heading back up to their apartment. It was a horrible thing that Max visit had to end on such a note and neither of them wished to address anything else at the moment.
But once in the apartment, Sam knew that he’d better get his appointed task over with. There was no sense in putting it off, no matter how he might feel about it. As he let go of Jess, who returned to her seat on the sofa, Sam crossed over to pick up the cordless phone from its base. As he turned it on and began to punch in the numbers of his father’s cell phone, he felt a sneeze coming on. ‘Just typical,’ he thought wryly to himself. ‘Max shares everything with me. All the news, their new numbers and now of course, her cold.’ But the dry amusement he’d found momentarily died as the call connected and began to ring through.
Chapter Twenty-eight
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