feel_human | [AU] down to the Gulf

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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From:

feel_human

She blinks at him, but considers the question carefully before she opens her mouth. "Well, for one thing, it's not accurate," she points out. "I guess everybody hates bein' called the wrong thing. Sam hated it when I asked if he was like a werewolf. But... "

Sookie shrugs. "'Psychic' is like... mind-readin'. I can't do that, or else I'd have found out about René long ago, right? I just hear things. I can't go lookin' for them. I think people are even more weirded out about a psychic than a telepath."

From:

gavemea_45

"Not just mind reading," he counters. "I mean, I can't do that. But ... I'm psychic."

It's the first time he's said it aloud as a simple fact, regardless of whatever it means.

"There's lots of different psychic abilities."

Edited Date: 2023-02-08 12:37 am (UTC)

From:

feel_human

"I guess."

She squeezes his fingers at his confession, her mouth a wry, sympathetic line. "I don't know that it's the word that bothers me so much, or just the way people always said it. Like I was somethin' to be afraid of, or like I was riflin' through their thoughts like... like somebody goin' through their underwear drawer."

Edited Date: 2023-02-08 12:39 am (UTC)

From:

gavemea_45

He knows she loves her town, but Sam has to wonder again just what the hell is wrong with so many of the people in it.

"The reason I ask... is there's lots of people in California who are a little on the hippie side. Psychics might be more accepted there. And Dad--"

He swallows, and continues, awkwardly, "--he always taught us to take psychics seriously. At least until we figured out if they were faking it or not."

From:

feel_human

She frowns a little at him, in confusion.

"You think I should tell people I'm psychic? A psychic?"

From:

gavemea_45

"I don't think you'd enjoy scamming anyone, so I'm not suggesting you set yourself up with a shop reading the cards or whatever. But if you're worried about slipping, or what people might think... I bet we can come up with a background that people'll think is special, and they'll give you a lot of leeway."

From:

feel_human

It's possible he's right, and she might be able to hide in plain sight, but...

"Won't that attract too much attention?"

Say, the kind that's been shining a spotlight on both of them since he came to town. "For me and you?"

From:

gavemea_45

"Maybe, maybe not. It's something to think about, anyway. As long as we don't go around talking about hunter business, vampires, or anything like that, I think we can blend in."

Sam runs his thumb over the inside of her wrist, back and forth. "Something to think about, anyway."

From:

feel_human

"Well, you know more about that than I do," she murmurs, shivering a little as he strokes his thumb over her skin. "We can think about it."

From:

gavemea_45

"Right." He rolls back to his side and leans over to press a gentle kiss to her shoulder. "We'll figure something out."

From:

feel_human

She shivers again as his lips brush her bare skin, and she lets go of his hand to settle hers lightly on his hip. "Okay."

For the first time in her life, she won't have to figure it out alone. Gran and Tara and Jason always loved her in spite of what she can do, but they'd never had an answer or a plan for her that wasn't please try to stop being that way.

But she can trust Sam to work it out with her, she thinks. "If you think we can find a way, I believe you."

From:

gavemea_45

"I do. We will." Sam smiles, putting all the reassurance into it that he can.

From:

feel_human

He must be real good at this part of the job, she thinks. The part where he talks to people about the crazy things that have happened, and makes them feel like it can all be managed, somehow.

She rolls onto her back and keeps her head turned so she can smile at him. "What would I do without you?" she teases, gently.

From:

gavemea_45

He mirrors her action by rolling onto his stomach, props himself up on his elbows, and grins at her. "Well, you wouldn't be lying on a beach right now, for one."

From:

feel_human

"Probably not," she agrees, wry. "It woulda taken me forever to manage to get down here by myself."

From:

gavemea_45

"There you go. Guess I'm worth keeping around," he teases.

From:

feel_human

Her grin shines out, bright as the sunlight falling over them.

"I've thought that since the first time you sat at that table in my section."

From:

gavemea_45

Sam flushes a bit as he grins back. "I'm glad I stopped in."

From:

feel_human

"Me too," she murmurs.

That was just about the only good thing that's happened to her in the last month. "My world's a whole lot nicer now, havin' you in it."

From:

gavemea_45

"Mine, too." He hesitates only for a second, then adds, "Both because of you and because of having Dean back, too."

From:

feel_human

"I'm so glad for you. Both of you."

Dean could have left at any point during the last few weeks, but he hasn't. And he'll be there when they get back. She wonders, if Sam hadn't stopped here, if he'd be talking to his brother yet. "I'm pretty glad to know him, myself."

From:

gavemea_45

"He likes you too," Sam assures her. "And not just because of your cooking."

From:

feel_human

"I hope so."

It's true she and Dean have gotten along much better over the last few weeks. Really, ever since Sam told her a little about how they were raised. "What's he gonna think about this whole plan, do you think?"