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: None at this time. (The pairing will become evident as the story progresses, but much further down the road.)
Summary: Change can be a choice and you never know where the road you choose to take will lead you.
When It Changes
Chapter Three
Adjusting To The New Kid
John stood guard at the bathroom door, letting Max know that Sam and Dean were changing into their night clothes, which pretty much consisted of sweats and t-shirts. She calmly asserted that she’d stay in the bathroom until they were done. He’d asked her if she wanted to borrow something to sleep in, which she had. So Dean had contributed a t-shirt and Sammy had torn into the new pack of boxer shorts that he’d been insisting he had to have. John had passed along the clothes and when Max finally made an appearance; it was all Sammy could do not to laugh at the sight of her. Everything was too large and she was clutching at the waist of the boxers through the white shirt Dean had lent her.
Throwing Sam a dirty look, Dean told her she could take the other bed, the one closest to the bathroom. He and Sammy were going to take the one closer to the door. Max threw a worried glance at John and he told her that he was going to take the room’s only chair. She still didn’t seem convinced, but John informed her that he’d slept in chairs many times while watching over his boys sleep. So she then obligingly clambered into the huge, at least to her, double bed. She pulled up the covers to over her waist and leaned back against the rickety headboard.
“Don’t worry Max,” Sam piped up from his side of the bed, closer to her. Nobody ever explained it to anybody else, but if they were forced to share a bed, Dean always put himself between Sam and the door. It was just an accepted routine of their little family. And no one bothered to say that John always put himself between the boys and the door when he finally decided to settle in for the night.
“Why would I worry?” the girl quipped. Sam shrugged one shoulder.
“You looked like you were going to try and take off again,” he replied bluntly. And it was true. John and Dean exchanged glances. Sometimes Sammy’s penchance for honesty was a little too direct.
“Couldn’t,” Max replied just as easily, as if they were talking about taking a walk. She didn’t look sheepish at all as she admitted, “there were bars on the bathroom window.”
John laughed. “There’ve probably been too many people who’ve evaded paying for their rooms by slipping out the bathroom window.” He didn’t bother to tell her that on a few occasions, he, Dean and Sam had been forced to do so as well.
“But how could they?” Max demanded to know. “The dimensions of the window would barely let me through, let alone an adult.”
“Oh I’m sure Sam could shimmy through,” Dean defended his younger brother as he felt the thirteen year old start to pipe up again.”
“He couldn’t!” Max insisted. The three males turned to stare at her. “His shoulders are too wide to go through at once, but even if we went one arm at a time, his body is about two inches too big around.”
“Only two inches huh?” Dean chuckled.
“Well, technically one point eight seven four five inches,” Max clarified. John turned his face away. This girl was starting to remind him of Sammy and his veracity for details that no one else ever seemed to care about.
“Hear that Sammy,” Dean teased, poking at his little brother. “You’re getting fat. We’re gonna have to start running some of that lard off your ass.”
“I’m not fat!” Sam yelled. “You are. In the head.” They al laughed at the lack of finesse Sam’s angry reply had shown. But hey, the kid was thirteen, really prone to just speaking the first thing that popped into his head. And Dean was still young enough to keep it going, just for the fun of it.
“Fat ass,” he sneered mockingly.
“Fat head!” Sam snarled back, though there was no rancor in his tone.
“Fat ass, fat ass,” Dean sang out, his hand inching towards his pillow, but Sammy was ahead of him on that one. As the repeated taunt rang out, this time it was accompanied with the soft blow of the down filled pillow belonging to Sam.
“Oh it’s on now little boy!” Dean responded as his own pillow flew to join the mock battle. John just sat by, watching. He didn’t mind the boys playing around like this occasionally. He looked over to Max to see what her reaction was to all of this. She probably wasn’t used to boys horsing around. And by looking at her closely, knew that he was right on the mark. Her eyes were darting back and forth between the boys on the next bed over and their father sitting calmly in the chair by the door.
“Not so loud,” he instructed, mindful of any other patrons in the motel. The boys immediately lowered their volume. But otherwise, he was content to watch and actually evaluate their skills, so that he’d know what area they needed to work on in their defense of themselves. Max continued to watch and then smiled as Dean wrapped one arm around Sam’s neck as the younger boy struggled.
“You’re in for it now Sammy boy,” Dean taunted as he twisted his torso to keep Sam in the right side headlock he’d managed to get on his brother. Sam continued to struggle, his feet trying to find purchase so that he could attempt to throw his older brother off him. A feat that John knew was futile since Dean outweighed the younger boy by many pounds.
“Think Sammy,” he told the boy quietly. “Don’t struggle and think about the situation you’re in.” It helped the boy to focus, but the only thing he could really think of was that Dean was showing him up deliberately in front of the newcomer. It stung his teenage pride, but even more so when Max called out instructions in a rapid staccato beat, as if this were something that had already been drilled into her head.
“Leg lock or kidney punch, or break his nose,” she instructed just as easily as John had. The older man was surprised in a few ways. He hadn’t expected Max to take part in this. He supposed that his easy acceptance of the boys fight had calmed her enough to realize that they weren’t going to hurt each other. Of course, the fact that Dean was just hanging on to the boy and squirming away from the pathetic slaps Sam was making, probably helped.
“Good ideas Max,” he complimented and smiled at her. She nodded and he realized that she was sitting up straighter again, looking proud of herself. He shifted his attention back to Sam. “So which is it going to be boy?”
“You really gonna let him break my nose?” Dean asked his father with wide eyes. “I mean, not that he could.” Both boys had stilled a little more, as if waiting to see which way their father would jump.
“What would you do Max?” John asked hesitantly. He wondered why she would know these things. How she would understand self-defense, but not use it to protect herself or her sister. But there were other considerations to make as well. From what he’d heard of her foster father so far, the weight of the man’s threats probably outweighed heavily Max’s survival instincts. On second thought though, they probably fed right into it. Fight and be punished. Do nothing and keep your sister and foster mother from being hurt even more. He sighed and waited for the girl to answer.
In reply, Max threw the covers off. She padded softly over to the boys’ bed. “Can I?” she asked them, gesturing at them with one hand while the other held up the boxers.
“Sure,” Dean grinned. “Jump on up here.” John watched with interest. Max moved behind the boys, keeping some distance between them.
“Sam, you’ve got an arm free,” she instructed. “And it’s pretty long, just like your legs. But Dean’s got one leg pinned so it isn’t much use to try and get them free right now.” John could see both Sam and Dean nodding at her assessment, though Sammy was having a more difficult time of it. “So what you do is this.” She took Sam’s left arm and raised it above all their heads. She brought it down over Dean’s shoulder and to the front of Dean’s face. Dean jerked his head back as Sam’s hand flailed a little. “Hang on,” she told them as she moved around in front of them.
The girl moved to settle herself in front of the boys and John shifted in his chair so that he could see clearly. He had an idea of what she was going to show the boy and it was confirmed when she grabbed Sam’s hand again.
“When you do this in an actual fight,” she continued her instruction, “it happens much faster, so your opponent might not expect it, like Dean does.”
“Help her out Dean,” John told the young man and Dean sighed and obligingly moved his head closer to Sam’s hand.
“Now,” Max smiled, “use your thumb to get under Dean’s nose and jerk his head back.” Sam complied and once accomplished, found himself sitting upright as Dean sprawled backwards on the bed.
“Cool!” he breathed at he looked at his older brother holding his nose with both hands.
“God damn son of a bitch!” Dean rasped out. “That hurt!”
The other three occupants of the room were smiling. Max leaned towards Sam and gestured at him. He obliged by leaning closer to her and she whispered a few minutes in his ear. Neither John nor Dean heard what they were saying, but Dean’s eyes began to flicker again. Suddenly, the older boy flew forward and had caught Sam in another headlock. Max scrambled backwards off the bed and just managed to keep her boxers from slipping off.
“Let’s see you do that again squirt,” Dean taunted. “I know what you got now, bitch, huh?”
John was about to admonish Dean for his language, but Max was just smiling. And so was Sam, a dangerous smile. So John held his tongue and watched the scene unfold. Sam tried a few times for the nose and Dean ducked his head back time and again. “Not so tough now Sammy boy. Don’t have a girl doin’ you’re dirty work for ya.”
And with that snide remark, Sam took the newest lesson Max had whispered to him and hooked Dean under his jaw, back towards his ear and with one thumb caught him in the nerve that ran there. The result was the same, Dean instantly let go to cup his face as he swore again, more loudly than before.
“It worked!” Sam announced proudly. He glanced down at Dean, then over at his father. “Didja see me fake him out Dad?”
“I sure did,” John replied proudly. This time Sam had completely kept his head and led Dean right to where he’d wanted him. And he had recognized the usefulness of the second movement Max had taught Sam. For no matter how Dean had stretched his head to get away from Sam, he couldn’t cover that weak point under his jaw. And he knew that Dean would work out ways to avoid it and punish Sammy for getting one up on him. And Sam would in turn retaliate by thinking up something else to keep Dean on his toes. He turned to Max. “That was some good advice,” he complimented her and she nodded. “Where did you learn that?”
He wished he’d bitten his tongue as at once a shuttered look came over her features. She shrugged. “Just something I picked up.”
“Ah,” Sam sympathized at once. “Did you get bullied at school?” he asked, knowing from his own experiences what that was like. Max shrugged, but Sam didn’t notice the noncommittal aspect of her demeanor. “That used to happen to me sometimes. But Dean always kicked those guys’ butts.” Now that the fight was over, and he had won, Sam was proudly enumerating his brother’s good points to the girl.
“And now I’m thinking that you can start taking care of yourself,” Dean huffed. But even as he said it, he knew it would never happen. No matter what, if he could, he’d always be there to save his little brother. It was as natural to him at this point in his life as breathing air.
John was about to intercede and tell them to settle down again, but a knock at the door forestalled him. All three children went absolutely still, but John wasn’t worried. He’d heard the car pulling up seconds ago and surmised that Janie must have arrived. He pulled aside the window shade and checked out the expected guest. She was standing back from the door, her emergency medical kit hanging from one hand. She was staring straight back at John, letting him look her over. John smiled tightly at her and nodded once. She nodded back as he let the window shade drop and moved to open the door.
The woman who stepped in was about what he’d expected. She was in her mid-forties, though it was hard to tell. She had the body of a woman much younger and John imagined that she kept fit to meet the state’s required endurance tests for fire, police and emergency workers of the volunteer kind. She also had the expectant air of someone used to dealing with unpredictable situations. She let the Winchester’s and Max look her over until she’d had her fill and then in a calm, but clear voice, asked, “So, where’s my patient?”
The three males turned to look at Max, who’d shrunk back under the sudden attention. She was okay now it seemed with the Winchester’s, but not so sure with the new element introduced to her world. Even though expected, Janie was an unknown quantity. And moreover, she was a state employee in a certain capacity and Max knew that they were compelled by law in certain matters. But John had promised her that she wouldn’t have to go back. And right now she wanted very much to be able to take him at his word.
Somehow, Janie was able to take this in, Max’s behavior and to a degree correctly assess the problem. It wasn’t hard since she’d had recalcitrant patients, namely her husband, before.
“All right kiddo,” she began, speaking directly to Max and for the moment, ignoring the men. “My name is Jane Miller. I’m an EMT and John called me to check you over for any injuries. If you’ll let me do that, then I can assess any damage you might have sustained in the accident and make a recommendation. What you do with that recommendation is up to you and John. Understood?”
In that moment, Max decided that she liked Jane. The woman didn’t talk down to her just because of her size, age or gender. She told her straight out what she was going to do. That meant a lot to Max.
“Understood,” she responded politely. But before she could allow Jane to come towards her, she had one question. “May I ask, what confidentiality laws are applicable here?”
Jane smiled, looking impressed. She could see that this kid was one smart cookie. “Everything you tell me is confidential kiddo. The only people I can share what you tell me, is the people at the hospital, if I were to transport you, or you give consent for them to contact me about my examination of you. All right?”
That satisfied Max. She nodded and then added, “call me Max.”
“Okay Max,” Jane amended. She gestured to the empty bed. “Take a seat up there please.” She waited until Max had complied and pulled two latex gloves from her vest pocket. “Have you ever had a general exam Max?”
“Yes ma’am,” she replied quickly.
“Uh Jane,” John interrupted softly, thinking about Max’s privacy. The woman turned to look at him. “Should we leave you alone?”
“I don’t think you’ll need to,” Jane informed him. She did turn her attention back to Max and told her, “however, if you young lady, would like them to leave, we’ll halt the exam and find some privacy.”
“They’re fine,” Max whispered. She felt that having the men there, perhaps Janie would avoid anything overly personal and just do a cursory head and neck examination. Janie nodded and pulled out a pen light from another vest pocket.
“Okay, so tell me what happened,” she instructed as she checked Max’s eyes. Max told her in simple terms, without emotional attachment to the events what had occurred, with the men piping up to add their own observations. She was checking Max’s blood pressure while Dean was talking about getting her into the backseat and heading into town. “And how long was she unconscious?”
“A few minutes,” Dean replied promptly. “But less than ten.”
“Not even that,” Max admitted. She glanced sheepishly at Dean. “I kind of woke up when you laid me down on the seat.”
“No you didn’t,” Dean denied.
Max nodded her head. “I was awake. I just didn’t want you to know I was awake.”
“How come?” Sam demanded yet again. Max looked straight ahead at Janie’s bent head.
“Because she was in a new situation that she wasn’t sure about and needed time to acclimate to the situation,” John supplied for her. Max glanced up at him and then nodded to confirm his theory.
“I wouldn’t have said anything but you hit a small bump and it made my head ache for a minute,” Max continued. Jane looked up from the blood pressure cuff.
“Can you show me where that pain was?” she wanted to know. Max used her free hand to gesture to the spot near her temple. Jane carefully looked over the old bruise there that John had been looking at earlier. “Does it still hurt there?”
“No ma’am,” Max said. Jane nodded and went back to reading the cuff numbers. In less than a minute, she was releasing the air out of the cuff and removing it from the young girl’s arm. She sat back on her heels and when she spoke, included everyone in the room.
“Well Max, you seem to be just fine,” she declared. “All your functions, eyesight, hearing, verbal and motor appear to be intact and not grossly affected. Or even minorly affected. Your blood pressure and pulse are well within normal range.” She turned then to John. “How long has it been since the accident?”
“Almost two hours now,” John offered with a glance at his watch.
“Then I doubt she has a concussion,” Jane decided. “All right. Max, if you have any pain in your head or eyes, double vision, blurriness or nausea in the next twenty-four hours, you need to tell John and come to the hospital.” She held up her hand as Max began to protest. “That’s my recommendation,” the words rang out authoritatively. “Remember what I said about my recommendation?”
“That I could do with it as I wanted,” Max responded, a little contrite. Janie smiled and rose up from her knees to begin putting her equipment away. “Is that it?” Max asked dubiously. Jane pause din her packing.
“It sure is,” she confirmed. “Was there something else?”
“You’re not going to take my blood?” Max demanded and then ducked her head, realizing that she’d slipped and given up a little information about her past. Something that was eagerly seized upon by John and Jane, even if it had escaped the boys.
“Do you think I need to?” Jane joked. “Do you want me to?”
“No ma’am,” Max stated emphatically. Jane chuckled and patted Max’s knee.
“Then I won’t.”
As she put the last of her equipment into her pockets where they belonged, her pen light last, Jane motioned to John. He moved forward even as Max scooted back to get under the bed covers once more. “This wasn’t an official visit,” Jane stated clearly, not bothering to lower her voice. “That means there’s no paperwork to worry about.” John nodded. “Normally, after an accident, I would be obliged to transport the victim whether they were hurt or not. But since she seems to be okay and so much time has elapsed, it’s my opinion that she’ll be just fine.”
“Do we have to sign one of those waivers or something?” John asked, understanding Janie’s point. Jane shook her head no.
“No visit, no paperwork,” she reiterated. “Just some advice for all of you. If she gets sick, go to the hospital. And you young lady,” she turned to Max. “Thank you for being a good patient.” Max smiled at the unexpected words issued to her.
“Thank you too,” she whispered softly. She couldn’t say what exactly she was thanking the woman for, but Janie seemed to understand. She hefted her bag and headed for the door.
“Night all!” she called as she left. There was a chorus of good-byes from all around until John had the door firmly shut, locked and bolted. They heard the sudden roar of Janie’s car and listened to it as it backed away and then pulled off into the night.
“And now,” John sighed, looking over the three kids, “it’s time to go to sleep.” And without argument, all three of them nestled down in their respective beds. John took a seat in the chair he had occupied before, it being the only chair in the room and watched over the children as he puzzled over what to do with this newest intrusion into his life.
Chapter Four
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