[AU] down to the Gulf

[feel_human]

Recuperating is a long, wearisome process, but she steadily refuses Bill's offers of his blood. "With everythin' that's been happenin', I just need to feel human for a while," she tells him, and he accepts it, if reluctantly.

Sam and Dean keep her swaddled in blankets, ply her with ice cream and soup and oatmeal and eggs, food soft enough not to hurt her bruised throat, and sternly keep her from doing pretty much anything at all but resting, eating, and healing. It feels like ages before her throat has healed well enough for her to eat solid food, but after that point, she gets better faster and faster. After a couple of weeks, she's nearly back to her old self, and the bruises have mostly faded away. She celebrates by baking Dean the long-promised apple pie and by telling Sam Merlotte that she's taking another week off.

There's no chance her little Honda could make it all the way down to the Gulf, even after Dean fixes what René had broken. Jason surprises her by offering his truck – she doesn't take him up on it, but she's touched – but a rental's a lot easier to manage when she's not the only one paying for it.

She leaves the house in Dean's care, warns him that Tara will be stopping by to make sure the place is still in one piece and asks him not to stake the neighbors, then slips into the passenger seat, her bag in the back with Sam's backpack. And then they're gone, gone, cruising southwards away from Bon Temps and vampires and everything that's happened. It's perfect, and that's even before they get to the Gulf.

She's not prepared for the crystalline water, the massive arcing expanse of sky, the soft white sand. It's the most beautiful place she's ever seen.

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[feel_human]

She giggles and curves her hand at the back of his head to kiss him back, then gives him a shake of the head, mock-scolding. "Don't get ahead of yourself," she says. "You might decide you like bein' out there alone. Or meet some other girl you like better than me."

[gavemea_45]

"I doubt it," he says, cheerful now. "And that'll give me time to find a good apartment for us. I don't think it'll be as nice as your house, and I'm sorry about that."

[feel_human]

"Well, I'm keepin' my house," she says, practical. "We can come back and be there for holidays or in the summer. And that way Dean can stop in and use it whenever he needs, too."

[gavemea_45]

"Of course you're keeping your house. It's a great house." Something softens about his smile.

"Dean'll be over the moon to know you're thinking about him, too."

[feel_human]

"Well, of course. He's your brother."

And it's already going to be hard enough for him, with Sam going away. "Besides, I bet y'all haven't had a place to be for Christmas since before you were even born."

[gavemea_45]

“Still.”

Sam shrugs, setting that aside. “Christmas hasn’t been a big deal for us since I was eight.”

[feel_human]

"All the more reason to make it nice now," she points out.

The fact that he's pleased with her plan unwinds a knot she hadn't even known was growing in her gut, and she smiles at him. "You'll have to do some scountin' for me. See if there's a bar or restaurant somewhere near there where I can find some work."

[gavemea_45]

“I will,” he promises. “I’m sure there’ll be something. It’s a nice city.”

[feel_human]

"It sounds like it."

She shifts to pillow her head on her arm, looking over at him. "So... that's what I think. But what were you thinkin'"?

[gavemea_45]

"It's going to sound silly," he warns. What he sounds is rueful. "But I was afraid to think about it too much."

[feel_human]

"Sam," she says, her smile a mix of amused and reproachful. "It was your idea."

[gavemea_45]

"I told you it was going to sound silly." He shrugs, very slightly.

"I knew I wanted you to come. I knew I was asking you to make one of the biggest changes in your life. And then with everything else... I was afraid to want it too much, so I figured once I knew what you wanted, I'd figure out how to make everything happen from there."

[feel_human]

"Well, as long as you want it, that's good enough for me."

Her smile isn't going anywhere. This whole thing feels like a dream. "So... should that be the plan? For now?"

[gavemea_45]

"I think it's a great plan." He leans over to give her another kiss. "It makes a lot of sense, and if you wanted to come out to visit before then maybe, to see what you think of Palo Alto -- maybe over fall break? -- I could show you around where I'd looked at apartments and stuff."

[feel_human]

"Okay." She flushes and brightens, her hand resting on the sand between their towels.

"I figure you're gonna be crazy busy at the start, anyway," she points out. "I don't want you to have to worry about me, too, those first few weeks."

[gavemea_45]

"I wouldn't mind," he insists. "But I have to admit your plan makes more sense."

[feel_human]

"I know you wouldn't mind," she says, gentle. "But it'd make things harder. That's just a fact. And this way, we can both have some time to get organized and make sure it's what we really want."

[gavemea_45]

He's sure of it, but she's right that they'll end up in a better situation with a little more time to sort things out.

"As long as you know that I'm not going to change my mind."

[feel_human]

"Well, I hope you don't, honey."

She reaches to push a fall of his drying hair back out of his face, her smile crooking. "But you haven't known me that long. It would be okay if you did."

[gavemea_45]

"You haven't known me that long, either," he counters. "And god knows my family comes with a lot of baggage. So I'll understand if you change yours."

[feel_human]

"Then I hope I don't, either."

For so many reasons, not least because the thought of a little place in California with him is almost too sweet to bear. It won't do either of them any good to keep one foot out the door, so why not assume it'll work? Why not throw herself into it headfirst?

Her smile warms and strengthens. "And when you find a place, I'll make it nice and homey. You'll see."

[gavemea_45]

Everything inside him blooms as he imagines it. "You'll love California. I just know it."

[feel_human]

"I don't know anythin' about it," she muses. "It's kinda scary to think about goin' that far away."

It is, but it sends a thrill of excitement through her, too, and her grin doesn't dim at all. "You know I'm gonna want Tara to be able to come visit, right?"

[gavemea_45]

"I think we need a two-bedroom apartment, for guests," Sam says. "It may not be a big one, though."

[feel_human]

"Well, we gotta have a place for Dean to stay when he visits," she agrees, practical. "Can't just have him sleepin' on the floor. Tara, either."

She'll definitely need a job, and a good one, too. Maybe she'll have to start working as a bartender instead of waitress to afford all this.