[AU] two worlds, a lot of demons, and a new set of problems

[gavemea_45]

It's still hard to believe it's over; that the yellow-eyed demonic bastard they'd spent their whole lives hunting is finally dead.

Sam figures it'll sink in eventually. Given everything else -- right now he's still pretty numb.

He's also desperately tired, but that doesn't matter. There's something he needs to do, and he can't afford to delay.

He waits until they've settled in for the night, and then waits still longer. Once Dean's been asleep for half an hour, Sam picks up his messenger bag -- already stuffed with books and his computer -- and heads straight for the bar.

He orders black coffee and snags a table with a good view of both doors and the stairs, then pulls out the first of the old texts and starts to search through it.

There's work to do.

Comments

[gavemea_45]

He nods and hands it to her. "Where I come from, most hunters keep some kind of record. Notes, or something. We learn from each other that way. Along with reference books, old stuff." Kind of like the pile at his elbow.

"This was my Dad's. I keep it for us now."

[totalitarstupetballs]

Waverly flips open the journal, perusing the pages with interest. "Wow," she murmurs. "The detail in this..."

She shakes her head and looks up at him. "This is amazing."

[gavemea_45]

Sam grins a little and ducks his head at that. "Thanks. I guess you might not need this kind of thing, with that Black Badge agency of yours and all, but I figure it never hurts."

[totalitarstupetballs]

"I like it," she reiterates, smiling at his bashfulness, and flips a page, only to blink in amazement. "Is this – wow."

A few pages of neatly transcribed Latin; she runs her finger down the lines, reading some before looking back at him. "Did you put together your own variation on an exorcism?"

[gavemea_45]

"Uh-huh. I thought it'd be a good idea to see if there was a shorter version that would get the job done faster," he explains. "Go back to about thirty pages in and you'll see Dad had some things in there, experimenting with water purification language to come up with alternate blessing and cleansing incantations to make holy water."

[totalitarstupetballs]

Waverly nods, skimming the neat writing. It's cleverly done. "How fast have you got it down to?"

[gavemea_45]

"Haven't timed it yet. I'm working on improving how well I can speak it first. It's easier, having it memorized and practicing it," he tells her. "That way I don't have to depend on reading it from a book either."

[totalitarstupetballs]

"I haven't gotten to use any yet."

She sounds almost sorry about it. "We don't really need them, with Peacemaker. The revenants aren't possessing anyone, after all."

Her mouth presses into a wry line as she thinks of Shorty. "Mostly."

[gavemea_45]

"Yeah, revenants are their own kind of trouble," Sam agrees. "We didn't need them with the Colt, but it sure helps for other reasons."

[totalitarstupetballs]

She keeps flipping through the journal, taking note of the various sketches and newspaper clippings. Vampires, wendigos, skinwalkers... she shakes her head. "I have to dig through old stories and legends to find anything that works," she tells him. "It's amazing to have it all in one place."

[gavemea_45]

"We do that too," Sam assures her. "This is just what it looks like when we collect it all together. From what Wynonna said I guess you've only been doing this a couple of years or so?"

[totalitarstupetballs]

"Depends on which one of us you're talking about," Waverly tells him. "Wynonna's only been home for a few months. I've been working on learning everything I could about the curse and the Triangle for years."

[gavemea_45]

He backpedals, fast. "Sorry. I didn't realize."

Sam decides to take a different angle, and asks, "Do you have - um, Wynonna said there weren't many people around there who believed in this kind of stuff. Besides you, and Doc, and the agent guy."

[totalitarstupetballs]

She shakes her head. "Not really. My boyfriend – ex-boyfriend," she reminds herself, "he saw some of it. But he didn't want to think about it or talk about it. Most people want to pretend it's almost anything other than demons."

[gavemea_45]

He winces a little. "Sorry to hear that. It's rough when people don't get it, I know."

If he'd told Jessica, would she have believed him? Would she have lived? He'll never know, but he knows why he didn't.

"I don't know how close our worlds are, or if they're maybe even the same - I doubt it, but it's remotely possible," he clarifies, fast. "But if there's anything I can do or share that might help, I'd be glad to."

[totalitarstupetballs]

"It's okay," she tells him. "Champ's not much for talking about anything. Or thinking, really."

His offer is unexpected, and she beams at him, warm and delighted. "Really? That would be great. Honestly, it's just nice to be able to talk about it, you know?"

[gavemea_45]

Sam grins back at her. "I know. We always had to keep things secret from civilians, but all of us knew the score. Anyway, yes, really. I mean it."

[totalitarstupetballs]

"That's really nice of you, Sam. Thanks."

She folds her arms on the table and looks over at the skull. "I wish Uncle Curtis were still around to talk to. I'd love to know why he even had this thing."

[gavemea_45]

"No problem at all," he assures her. Sam studies the skull with her. "Good question. You said the note said you were the 'keeper of the bones' now? Like, bones plural?"

[totalitarstupetballs]

"Yeah."

She frowns at the skull, then at him. "That's creepy, right?"

[gavemea_45]

"Kinda, yeah." Sam eyes the empty sockets of the silent bone. "Nothing weird happened when you picked it up, right? It wasn't in the kind of place someone would have tried to ward, was it?"

[totalitarstupetballs]

Waverly shakes her head. "Not unless someone warded the saloon. And I don't think so, because half the regulars are revenants."

[gavemea_45]

"... then probably not, no," he manages, after a second or two to stare at her. "But still, 'bones' implies more than one. Want help looking?"

[totalitarstupetballs]

Waverly blinks at him.

"You want to come help me look for the rest of this guy?"

[gavemea_45]

'Want' is a pretty strong word, he feels, but he's already going to owe Wynonna more than his own life, and besides he can't help but feel sympathetic to everything Waverly's facing, too. Sam shrugs. "I mean, yeah, if it'd help you. If you've got it covered, that's okay too, I just thought I'd offer."