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strangetrip2018-02-27 09:28 pm
st_andingtall) wrote in strangetrip2018-02-27 09:28 pm
Entry tags:
[Log] Asphodel Station: Mom's First Off-world Adventure
What: Sam and Mary visit Asphodel and things...go badly.
When: February-March 2017, because I suck
Sam invites Mom on her first Otherworld adventure
"...I thought maybe we could go check out the station for awhile," Sam said when he finally got to the end of his whole "good morning, I brought you some coffee, I hope I'm not interrupting" awkward spiel when he appeared at his mother's door.
"Oh. Yeah. I'd like that." Mary took the offered coffee. "I've heard it's pretty exciting. Space, right? Give me one minute."
She left the door open for Sam to enter as she headed to her room to change into a tank top and plaid over shirt and she tied her hair up in a ponytail.
Mary re-entered with a smile. "Alright. Lead the way - have you been already?"
"Yeah. I was there the other day," with Vax and Scanlan to get Steph out of jail. "It's interesting. Aliens, alien language that turns readable and some that doesn't." He decided not to mention the jail incident just yet. "The only thing you need to remember is if a pale humanoid being calls you 'creature', ignore it and move on, and if you have to address it, don't call it anything but 'Ver'."
"...'Ver'. Got it. Alright." Mary almost felt as if she were on a hunt with her father and she had some cover story to remember. She pushed that thought aside, telling herself she never enjoyed hunting.
"I keep trying to imagine what a space station would look like, but all I have to go on in Star Trek and Star Wars and I'm sure those two are pretty off."
"It does look a little like some of the seedier places in Star Wars, like Mos Eisley," he told her as he held the door open for her. "I guess it used to be fairly exclusively a mining outpost. A place for R&R. Kind of the space equivalent of the dive bars hunters use for meeting places." It was cooler than that, but she'd appreciate it more if she didn't have Jetsons' style expectations.
"Your grandfather took me to one of those places when I was eight. Your grandmother had a fit." Mary grinned. "I thought everyone looked so cool, at the time." Before she really understood the expressions on a lot of the hunters' faces who sat there drinking their troubles away.
"So, where to first? Have something in mind?"
"Illyana has list of books she wants 'acquired' for the library, so I need to see what I can find that's even close. But I was thinking you might want to see the open area they call the 'arcade' and get something to eat. For entirely alien cultures, the food's pretty edible. I think these might be human-descended species, because some of it even tastes a lot like the Asian street food Jess and I used to eat in Palo Alto."
Which, he realized, probably meant nothing to his mom, since take-out Chinese had barely graduated past the basics when he was a kid. But, well, she'd have a chance to try it, since no matter how good a cook Emma was, you couldn't replicate a lot of this stuff in a regular kitchen. The grease and the ambiance were all part of the package.
"Alright. That sounds like a plan. And I'd like to try and find something for River... not that I know what she likes." Mary didn't think she was exactly a jewelry person, but maybe there would be some sort of trinket for her.
"That's...really sweet. I can help you look after we eat, if you want." That Mom had taken to River so easily really made him happy. Not thinking too much about it, he put an arm around her shoulders and gave her a half hug.
---
Sam and Mary have a little chat about his, ah, love life.
By the time they were sitting, waiting for their food, Mary was just getting off the emotional high of Sam's physical show of affection. It hadn't seemed forced or like it was 'something you did' because of a social gathering. It seemed normal and almost like it had always been that way. It felt nice.
"Do you promise this stuff is edible?" He had kind of just picked something based on the photograph.
Sam chuckled at her skepticism. "Wait until I introduce you to sushi," he teased and dug into what looked like Korean bibimbap. After a bite had been chewed and swallowed, he added, "It's actually really good."
Mary watched him take his first bite, survive, and then decided to taste some of her own. It was a consistency she wasn't used too, but the taste was good. Foreign, but good. A slow smile formed as she chewed, then swallowed. "You know, your grandfather hated Chinese Food. Your grandmother would smuggle some in from time to time as a special treat when he was on a case with another hunter. But I've never had anything even close to this."
"I'm not surprised. About either. You'd probably be amazed at how many different Asian cuisines you can find in a few city blocks now. It's good, too, healthier than a lot of what we eat." 'We' was euphemistic there. Sam ate like a fitness guru most of the time. "A lot has changed since... I was little."
Since she was alive, was what she assumed he had been about to say, but she gave him a smile. "There's a lot of changes since you were little... I met a man here from the 1400s. He had a list of phrases and things to figure out. I guess I should be thankful pens haven't changed much in 30 years."
"They have. You just use them the same." Sam grinned but then glanced away. He was trying, not very successfully, to lead toward a discussion of his love life, maybe by way of sexual norms having changed. Suppressing a sigh, he met her gaze again. Maybe he should've watched more 'Leave it to Beaver' or something and he'd know how to bring these things up. "Pretend there was an appropriate segue here," he said, and then spit out, "Can we talk about something that you might not approve of without you getting too parental on me?'
Mary looked surprised, eyebrows lifted a little, and blinked. "Okay..." She paused, trying to think about what it was that Sam possibly had to say that seemed so important. "You are a grown man, so I'm not sure I get any say on what you do anymore." And the sentence hit her like a heated blade to the chest, but she tried to ignore that.
"It's never stopped Dean," Sam pointed out, more amused by that than anything. He shook his head then, giving a tiny almost shrug. "It's not a big deal, it's just...I've been thinking I want to introduce you to my girlfriend. But that's complicated, because our relationship isn't...traditional."
"I thought you were causally dating a few girls." Which was more of an observation rather than a judgment. "Did you finally decide on one?"
Sam made a face and set down his utensils. "Sort of?" His brows scrunched up and his shoulders crept upward. "That's the non-traditional part."
Mary looked both amused and confused at the same time and leaned forward on her elbows. "It might just be easier to say it outright instead of skirting around the issue, Sam."
Sam nodded and let out a sigh. "Bo and I are officially dating, but she's--" A succubus. That, he wasn't telling Mom. Not right now. "Not monogamous, so we agreed I could still see Caroline and Molly. Caroline doesn't want any part of it, but Molly's... my best friend and I love her, and she would rather be with me with Bo than not at all. So... that's still happening. And both Bo and Molly are bisexual so it might also be that all three of us end up together." And that was awkward as fuck to say to anyone, let alone his mom.
"Wow." That was a lot of information and Mary sat back in the chair, blinking and processing everything. "Alright. That's new."
"Yeah." He kind of wanted to slide out of his chair and under the table, but most of his concentration was going to keeping him from blushing. "For me, too. I'm not even sure how to do it."
"Huh... okay." She nodded once, still processing the information. You'd think growing up in the 70s would help, but it wasn't like her family was particularly Liberal.
"...Are you happy, Sam?"
"I'd be happier if Caroline hadn't taken it badly, but..." He shrugged and ducked his head. "Otherwise, yeah. And not just because...you know." I'm living every guy's fantasy. "I'm not great at being happy. Not a lot of practice. But I'm learning."
Mary tried to keep her expression from showing how much it still hurt to know that her boys hadn't grown up happy. She still fully blamed herself for that. She forced a smile. "Then... even if it's not the most traditional relationship... I'm glad you're happy. That's all I ever want for you boys."
* * *
What happened to Sam? River, Mary, and Bo find out.
"I'll meet you back here in about an hour?" Sam suggested when Mom saw some shops she wanted to go into. He had to look for books for Illyana, and this way she wouldn't have to sit and twiddle her thumbs while he dug for God knew what.
"Alright! If you see something for River, let me know." Mary had her eyes on some of the jewelry and clothing stalls. There had to be something in this place for that girl.
"Sure, Mom. Try lightweight fabrics or cozy sweaters." River was a pretty simple creature when it came down to it. Free floating dresses and cardigans. Things that let her move and kept her warm. "Or maybe a clever game." She was really smart, too.
He gave her a wave and then headed off on his own errands.
* * *
Sam was late. While Mary might arguably not have spent a lot of time with her son as one should, she knew that he wasn't the type of person to normally do that. Still, she gave him another 20 minutes and she started to feel the same way she felt when Dean had wandered away in K-Mart. She searched the station for another half hour before exiting and for Sam's room. Mary tried desperately not to think of the worst-case scenarios, but she couldn't help it.
When she reached Sam's room, she knocked a little louder and hastily than she could have.
River knew something was off even before she opened the door, the anxiety came through loud and clear even before the knock. So when she opened the door she wasn't surprised to find Mary there.
"What did he do?"
Mary told herself to breathe since it was obvious by River's words he wasn't there. "I'm not sure. I'm not sure he even did anything. Maybe I'm over-reacting." But she was his mom and she had let him down before. "We went shopping and he was supposed to meet me back in an hour and I waited longer than that and then couldn't find him.... I can't shake the feeling something is wrong."
"He would not have missed an appointment," not with anyone but specifically not with his mom unless he couldn't help it. She disappeared into the room, and when she came back into view she had shoes on. "We will find him."
She patted Mary's arm awkwardly.
The walk back to the room fromthe station was a little tense. As they approached the portal, Bo was exiting. "Bo. Have you seen Sam?"
Bo turned and paused, then shook her head. "No.. not recently, why?"
Mary's lips pressed together. "I think he might be missing."
And so three females found themselves back in the marketplace of the space station looking for signs of Sam Winchester.
Not being a bloodhound River wasn't capable of tracking, if only because Sam's mind if it was there was mixed in with thousands of others and it was a bit like listening for one voice in a choir - if the choir was singing heavy metal, chamber music and bubblegum pop all at the same time.
Still she was certain he was ON the station.
Asking around didn't seem like it was getting them anywhere. Mary was getting more frantic, though outwardly she didn't show it except in tightened muscles and a hard expression. If anything happened to Sammy...
Bo was starting to worry now, too. The less and less answers they were getting, the more and more she thought about using her powers in front of Mary. Maybe it just had to be this way, to help Sam.
It wasn't that River was not worried about Sam, but the way it oozed off the other two was sticky like treacle syrup and River's hands kept flitting about trying to push it off where it stuck to her in sheets.
"Your anxiety is making it hard to focus." She told the other two, or maybe she was telling the air as she didn't actually address Mary or Bo directly. "He is here somewhere."
She knew that much, and the tone she used made it clear it was more than just a way of making them feel better, she meant it. She might not know where or what he was thinking but she knew he was here. Somewhere.
Sam's shoulders ached from the weight of the stack of books he was carrying. He didn't know where he was carrying them to, but it didn't seem like a problem. He was sure that he had a destination in mind and it would reveal itself when he got there. At the back of his mind, a thought tugged about someone he knew, but he couldn't bring it to the fore, so he just kept on walking through the arcade accompanied by his new friend.
Mary uttered a distracted apology to River as they search while Bo tried to actively hone back her rising tension. It was pretty hard and she wasn't sure she was doing it successfully.
It was Mary's eyes that caught sight of Sam first, but Bo felt the pull of him. Mary frowned and pointed. "There. He's with... is that an alien?" It didn't even look like he had a real body.
Bo studied Sam. "Why's he carrying so many books?"
"He was told to." Now that they had found him, or he had found them, River found it easier to locate him in the sea of minds but he kept slipping away like he wasn't him. Or part was missing or hidden.
She frowned, she didn't like it.
"There is something... wrong."
That was all Mary had to hear to quickly start walking towards her son, but Bo grabbed her shoulder. "Wait. There's a reason he's with that alien thing." It looked like the alien was keeping an eye on Sam, not unlike how some of the Fae kept an eye on Lauren from time to time. It made Bo bristle. "We might need to get that thing away from him first."
A distraction, that was something River could do, and she was gone from Mary's side as soon as Bo said it wandering in what looked aimless fashion into the path of Sam and the alien thing and then... she started to scream nonsense in Chinese while having full blown melt down. A second alien thing started moving toward her as she was blocking Sam and his escort's path but she either didn't see it or pretended not to, until it was within arms reach and then she kicked out.
Both women paused because they hadn't expected a sudden response and also an effective response like that one, but then they both made their way towards Sam quickly.
"Sam?" Mary's voice was tight and worried and far more motherly than normal. She was back in the room with Azazel and her six month old son. "Sammy? Are you okay?"
Bo decided to join River because it looked like a fight was going to commence.
If Sam heard his mother speaking or noticed the distraction, there was no sign of it. He kept walking with his load of books toward the destination he was sure he would know when he got to it.
But something happened, a whisper and a rustle, and suddenly Sam dropped the books, and went to catch the tall brunette woman around the waist to haul her back from the fight. "Please do not assault. My masters mean no harm."
Somewhere deep in his mind, the word 'masters' rankled and the women around him, especially the one he restrained, began to seem familiar, like a memory just out of reach.
River noticed that Sam had grabbed Bo, and ignored Mary but for the moment she was occupied, and launched herself at the first alien giving the second a kick to the... well... it looked like the middle to keep it back as she squared up with the other. Hitting things that were only marginally solid looking was harder than one would think, but she was doing a decent job of distracting them.
Bo tensed. Did Sam just say masters? If there was one thing that made Bo made was how people thought they could own other people, especially non-humans with humans. "You are so going to regret this, buddy." Bo warned the alien as she struggled in Sam's grasp. She didn't want to hurt him, but there was no way she was going to let him be used like this either.
She turned in his arms - easier to do so than to break free and possible sprain something of his. "Sam." She lowered her voice to a whisper, just for Sam to hear. "Please don't make me have to introduce what I am to your mother this way." Bo leaned in and kissed him. She pulled at his chi as she kissed him, drinking in his familiar, addictive taste as she pressed her lips against hers. Somewhere deep down in the recesses of Bo's primal instincts, there was the word mine and the intent to reclaim.
Mary decided to help River out since it looked like maybe Bo had this. She threw a punch at one of them before pulling out a hunting knife which she would use if she had to.
It was the please that did it, Sam would tell Bo later (although he'd tell his mother she'd started getting through to him, because he did remember it, and it would help her to hear it; River didn't need half-truths to feel useful). Someday he would be willing to throw himself in Lucifer's cage to save the world (thanks for that, Dean), and that stemmed from the same instinct here and now, to protect his girlfriend from a harm that couldn't be undone with chi and bandages.
When she kissed him, the final threads of the compulsion snapped and Sam returned the kiss (chastely, because Mom). "Not going to happen," he assured her, and loosened his hold on her in preparation to fight.
Bo exhaled in a relief that revealed to her she was far more tense than she had realized. "Thank you." To him or to a higher power or something else, it didn't matter. Bo was just thankful.
However the fluff-things either found Mom and River a nasty threat or sensed their hold was gone or both, and quickly scattered leaving the four of them standing there amidst half-a-dragon-hoard of books.
Once their combatants had dispersed there was a beat of silence, River tensed for a continued fight (as were the other she did not doubt) and then River walked over to Sam and poked his shoulder, scrutinizing him.
"You are you again." Statement more than question.
Sam grimaced at the poke, but he held an arm out to River to give her a hug if she wanted one. "Yeah." As much of himself as he ever was, since Dean brought him back anyway.
She did hug him, briefly and barely a hug but he would know the significance of that, then she stepped back and sort of shoved Mary at him.
Mary's expression was tense with worry as she followed River up to Sam. "Sam?" She wanted to reach out, to hug and to hold, but he wasn't a little kid. He didn't need her help the way he might have had he been little.
Releasing Bo, Sam reached out to his mother instead. Far more than River or Bo, she needed the reassurance, and even if he wasn't upset or scared, he'd never had a chance to learn like other kids that everything was okay when their mother hugged them. So maybe it was more the other way this time, but Sam pulled her into his arms and hugged her tightly. "I'm okay, Mom. I promise."
Despite Sam being taller and grown, Mary hugged him back like he was six months-old again. It was tight and strangely steady even though inside of her there was a war of fear and stress and relief and guilt from feeling useless, again. "I'm glad you're okay." And before she even thought about what she was doing, she turned her head and kissed his temple.
Semi-consciously, Sam made the same face eight year-old boys do when their moms snuggle them in public, but he kissed her cheek before he pulled away. "I'm fine. But if we leave these books sitting here instead of taking them to Illyana, none of us will be."
When: February-March 2017, because I suck
Sam invites Mom on her first Otherworld adventure
"...I thought maybe we could go check out the station for awhile," Sam said when he finally got to the end of his whole "good morning, I brought you some coffee, I hope I'm not interrupting" awkward spiel when he appeared at his mother's door.
"Oh. Yeah. I'd like that." Mary took the offered coffee. "I've heard it's pretty exciting. Space, right? Give me one minute."
She left the door open for Sam to enter as she headed to her room to change into a tank top and plaid over shirt and she tied her hair up in a ponytail.
Mary re-entered with a smile. "Alright. Lead the way - have you been already?"
"Yeah. I was there the other day," with Vax and Scanlan to get Steph out of jail. "It's interesting. Aliens, alien language that turns readable and some that doesn't." He decided not to mention the jail incident just yet. "The only thing you need to remember is if a pale humanoid being calls you 'creature', ignore it and move on, and if you have to address it, don't call it anything but 'Ver'."
"...'Ver'. Got it. Alright." Mary almost felt as if she were on a hunt with her father and she had some cover story to remember. She pushed that thought aside, telling herself she never enjoyed hunting.
"I keep trying to imagine what a space station would look like, but all I have to go on in Star Trek and Star Wars and I'm sure those two are pretty off."
"It does look a little like some of the seedier places in Star Wars, like Mos Eisley," he told her as he held the door open for her. "I guess it used to be fairly exclusively a mining outpost. A place for R&R. Kind of the space equivalent of the dive bars hunters use for meeting places." It was cooler than that, but she'd appreciate it more if she didn't have Jetsons' style expectations.
"Your grandfather took me to one of those places when I was eight. Your grandmother had a fit." Mary grinned. "I thought everyone looked so cool, at the time." Before she really understood the expressions on a lot of the hunters' faces who sat there drinking their troubles away.
"So, where to first? Have something in mind?"
"Illyana has list of books she wants 'acquired' for the library, so I need to see what I can find that's even close. But I was thinking you might want to see the open area they call the 'arcade' and get something to eat. For entirely alien cultures, the food's pretty edible. I think these might be human-descended species, because some of it even tastes a lot like the Asian street food Jess and I used to eat in Palo Alto."
Which, he realized, probably meant nothing to his mom, since take-out Chinese had barely graduated past the basics when he was a kid. But, well, she'd have a chance to try it, since no matter how good a cook Emma was, you couldn't replicate a lot of this stuff in a regular kitchen. The grease and the ambiance were all part of the package.
"Alright. That sounds like a plan. And I'd like to try and find something for River... not that I know what she likes." Mary didn't think she was exactly a jewelry person, but maybe there would be some sort of trinket for her.
"That's...really sweet. I can help you look after we eat, if you want." That Mom had taken to River so easily really made him happy. Not thinking too much about it, he put an arm around her shoulders and gave her a half hug.
---
Sam and Mary have a little chat about his, ah, love life.
By the time they were sitting, waiting for their food, Mary was just getting off the emotional high of Sam's physical show of affection. It hadn't seemed forced or like it was 'something you did' because of a social gathering. It seemed normal and almost like it had always been that way. It felt nice.
"Do you promise this stuff is edible?" He had kind of just picked something based on the photograph.
Sam chuckled at her skepticism. "Wait until I introduce you to sushi," he teased and dug into what looked like Korean bibimbap. After a bite had been chewed and swallowed, he added, "It's actually really good."
Mary watched him take his first bite, survive, and then decided to taste some of her own. It was a consistency she wasn't used too, but the taste was good. Foreign, but good. A slow smile formed as she chewed, then swallowed. "You know, your grandfather hated Chinese Food. Your grandmother would smuggle some in from time to time as a special treat when he was on a case with another hunter. But I've never had anything even close to this."
"I'm not surprised. About either. You'd probably be amazed at how many different Asian cuisines you can find in a few city blocks now. It's good, too, healthier than a lot of what we eat." 'We' was euphemistic there. Sam ate like a fitness guru most of the time. "A lot has changed since... I was little."
Since she was alive, was what she assumed he had been about to say, but she gave him a smile. "There's a lot of changes since you were little... I met a man here from the 1400s. He had a list of phrases and things to figure out. I guess I should be thankful pens haven't changed much in 30 years."
"They have. You just use them the same." Sam grinned but then glanced away. He was trying, not very successfully, to lead toward a discussion of his love life, maybe by way of sexual norms having changed. Suppressing a sigh, he met her gaze again. Maybe he should've watched more 'Leave it to Beaver' or something and he'd know how to bring these things up. "Pretend there was an appropriate segue here," he said, and then spit out, "Can we talk about something that you might not approve of without you getting too parental on me?'
Mary looked surprised, eyebrows lifted a little, and blinked. "Okay..." She paused, trying to think about what it was that Sam possibly had to say that seemed so important. "You are a grown man, so I'm not sure I get any say on what you do anymore." And the sentence hit her like a heated blade to the chest, but she tried to ignore that.
"It's never stopped Dean," Sam pointed out, more amused by that than anything. He shook his head then, giving a tiny almost shrug. "It's not a big deal, it's just...I've been thinking I want to introduce you to my girlfriend. But that's complicated, because our relationship isn't...traditional."
"I thought you were causally dating a few girls." Which was more of an observation rather than a judgment. "Did you finally decide on one?"
Sam made a face and set down his utensils. "Sort of?" His brows scrunched up and his shoulders crept upward. "That's the non-traditional part."
Mary looked both amused and confused at the same time and leaned forward on her elbows. "It might just be easier to say it outright instead of skirting around the issue, Sam."
Sam nodded and let out a sigh. "Bo and I are officially dating, but she's--" A succubus. That, he wasn't telling Mom. Not right now. "Not monogamous, so we agreed I could still see Caroline and Molly. Caroline doesn't want any part of it, but Molly's... my best friend and I love her, and she would rather be with me with Bo than not at all. So... that's still happening. And both Bo and Molly are bisexual so it might also be that all three of us end up together." And that was awkward as fuck to say to anyone, let alone his mom.
"Wow." That was a lot of information and Mary sat back in the chair, blinking and processing everything. "Alright. That's new."
"Yeah." He kind of wanted to slide out of his chair and under the table, but most of his concentration was going to keeping him from blushing. "For me, too. I'm not even sure how to do it."
"Huh... okay." She nodded once, still processing the information. You'd think growing up in the 70s would help, but it wasn't like her family was particularly Liberal.
"...Are you happy, Sam?"
"I'd be happier if Caroline hadn't taken it badly, but..." He shrugged and ducked his head. "Otherwise, yeah. And not just because...you know." I'm living every guy's fantasy. "I'm not great at being happy. Not a lot of practice. But I'm learning."
Mary tried to keep her expression from showing how much it still hurt to know that her boys hadn't grown up happy. She still fully blamed herself for that. She forced a smile. "Then... even if it's not the most traditional relationship... I'm glad you're happy. That's all I ever want for you boys."
* * *
What happened to Sam? River, Mary, and Bo find out.
"I'll meet you back here in about an hour?" Sam suggested when Mom saw some shops she wanted to go into. He had to look for books for Illyana, and this way she wouldn't have to sit and twiddle her thumbs while he dug for God knew what.
"Alright! If you see something for River, let me know." Mary had her eyes on some of the jewelry and clothing stalls. There had to be something in this place for that girl.
"Sure, Mom. Try lightweight fabrics or cozy sweaters." River was a pretty simple creature when it came down to it. Free floating dresses and cardigans. Things that let her move and kept her warm. "Or maybe a clever game." She was really smart, too.
He gave her a wave and then headed off on his own errands.
* * *
Sam was late. While Mary might arguably not have spent a lot of time with her son as one should, she knew that he wasn't the type of person to normally do that. Still, she gave him another 20 minutes and she started to feel the same way she felt when Dean had wandered away in K-Mart. She searched the station for another half hour before exiting and for Sam's room. Mary tried desperately not to think of the worst-case scenarios, but she couldn't help it.
When she reached Sam's room, she knocked a little louder and hastily than she could have.
River knew something was off even before she opened the door, the anxiety came through loud and clear even before the knock. So when she opened the door she wasn't surprised to find Mary there.
"What did he do?"
Mary told herself to breathe since it was obvious by River's words he wasn't there. "I'm not sure. I'm not sure he even did anything. Maybe I'm over-reacting." But she was his mom and she had let him down before. "We went shopping and he was supposed to meet me back in an hour and I waited longer than that and then couldn't find him.... I can't shake the feeling something is wrong."
"He would not have missed an appointment," not with anyone but specifically not with his mom unless he couldn't help it. She disappeared into the room, and when she came back into view she had shoes on. "We will find him."
She patted Mary's arm awkwardly.
The walk back to the room fromthe station was a little tense. As they approached the portal, Bo was exiting. "Bo. Have you seen Sam?"
Bo turned and paused, then shook her head. "No.. not recently, why?"
Mary's lips pressed together. "I think he might be missing."
And so three females found themselves back in the marketplace of the space station looking for signs of Sam Winchester.
Not being a bloodhound River wasn't capable of tracking, if only because Sam's mind if it was there was mixed in with thousands of others and it was a bit like listening for one voice in a choir - if the choir was singing heavy metal, chamber music and bubblegum pop all at the same time.
Still she was certain he was ON the station.
Asking around didn't seem like it was getting them anywhere. Mary was getting more frantic, though outwardly she didn't show it except in tightened muscles and a hard expression. If anything happened to Sammy...
Bo was starting to worry now, too. The less and less answers they were getting, the more and more she thought about using her powers in front of Mary. Maybe it just had to be this way, to help Sam.
It wasn't that River was not worried about Sam, but the way it oozed off the other two was sticky like treacle syrup and River's hands kept flitting about trying to push it off where it stuck to her in sheets.
"Your anxiety is making it hard to focus." She told the other two, or maybe she was telling the air as she didn't actually address Mary or Bo directly. "He is here somewhere."
She knew that much, and the tone she used made it clear it was more than just a way of making them feel better, she meant it. She might not know where or what he was thinking but she knew he was here. Somewhere.
Sam's shoulders ached from the weight of the stack of books he was carrying. He didn't know where he was carrying them to, but it didn't seem like a problem. He was sure that he had a destination in mind and it would reveal itself when he got there. At the back of his mind, a thought tugged about someone he knew, but he couldn't bring it to the fore, so he just kept on walking through the arcade accompanied by his new friend.
Mary uttered a distracted apology to River as they search while Bo tried to actively hone back her rising tension. It was pretty hard and she wasn't sure she was doing it successfully.
It was Mary's eyes that caught sight of Sam first, but Bo felt the pull of him. Mary frowned and pointed. "There. He's with... is that an alien?" It didn't even look like he had a real body.
Bo studied Sam. "Why's he carrying so many books?"
"He was told to." Now that they had found him, or he had found them, River found it easier to locate him in the sea of minds but he kept slipping away like he wasn't him. Or part was missing or hidden.
She frowned, she didn't like it.
"There is something... wrong."
That was all Mary had to hear to quickly start walking towards her son, but Bo grabbed her shoulder. "Wait. There's a reason he's with that alien thing." It looked like the alien was keeping an eye on Sam, not unlike how some of the Fae kept an eye on Lauren from time to time. It made Bo bristle. "We might need to get that thing away from him first."
A distraction, that was something River could do, and she was gone from Mary's side as soon as Bo said it wandering in what looked aimless fashion into the path of Sam and the alien thing and then... she started to scream nonsense in Chinese while having full blown melt down. A second alien thing started moving toward her as she was blocking Sam and his escort's path but she either didn't see it or pretended not to, until it was within arms reach and then she kicked out.
Both women paused because they hadn't expected a sudden response and also an effective response like that one, but then they both made their way towards Sam quickly.
"Sam?" Mary's voice was tight and worried and far more motherly than normal. She was back in the room with Azazel and her six month old son. "Sammy? Are you okay?"
Bo decided to join River because it looked like a fight was going to commence.
If Sam heard his mother speaking or noticed the distraction, there was no sign of it. He kept walking with his load of books toward the destination he was sure he would know when he got to it.
But something happened, a whisper and a rustle, and suddenly Sam dropped the books, and went to catch the tall brunette woman around the waist to haul her back from the fight. "Please do not assault. My masters mean no harm."
Somewhere deep in his mind, the word 'masters' rankled and the women around him, especially the one he restrained, began to seem familiar, like a memory just out of reach.
River noticed that Sam had grabbed Bo, and ignored Mary but for the moment she was occupied, and launched herself at the first alien giving the second a kick to the... well... it looked like the middle to keep it back as she squared up with the other. Hitting things that were only marginally solid looking was harder than one would think, but she was doing a decent job of distracting them.
Bo tensed. Did Sam just say masters? If there was one thing that made Bo made was how people thought they could own other people, especially non-humans with humans. "You are so going to regret this, buddy." Bo warned the alien as she struggled in Sam's grasp. She didn't want to hurt him, but there was no way she was going to let him be used like this either.
She turned in his arms - easier to do so than to break free and possible sprain something of his. "Sam." She lowered her voice to a whisper, just for Sam to hear. "Please don't make me have to introduce what I am to your mother this way." Bo leaned in and kissed him. She pulled at his chi as she kissed him, drinking in his familiar, addictive taste as she pressed her lips against hers. Somewhere deep down in the recesses of Bo's primal instincts, there was the word mine and the intent to reclaim.
Mary decided to help River out since it looked like maybe Bo had this. She threw a punch at one of them before pulling out a hunting knife which she would use if she had to.
It was the please that did it, Sam would tell Bo later (although he'd tell his mother she'd started getting through to him, because he did remember it, and it would help her to hear it; River didn't need half-truths to feel useful). Someday he would be willing to throw himself in Lucifer's cage to save the world (thanks for that, Dean), and that stemmed from the same instinct here and now, to protect his girlfriend from a harm that couldn't be undone with chi and bandages.
When she kissed him, the final threads of the compulsion snapped and Sam returned the kiss (chastely, because Mom). "Not going to happen," he assured her, and loosened his hold on her in preparation to fight.
Bo exhaled in a relief that revealed to her she was far more tense than she had realized. "Thank you." To him or to a higher power or something else, it didn't matter. Bo was just thankful.
However the fluff-things either found Mom and River a nasty threat or sensed their hold was gone or both, and quickly scattered leaving the four of them standing there amidst half-a-dragon-hoard of books.
Once their combatants had dispersed there was a beat of silence, River tensed for a continued fight (as were the other she did not doubt) and then River walked over to Sam and poked his shoulder, scrutinizing him.
"You are you again." Statement more than question.
Sam grimaced at the poke, but he held an arm out to River to give her a hug if she wanted one. "Yeah." As much of himself as he ever was, since Dean brought him back anyway.
She did hug him, briefly and barely a hug but he would know the significance of that, then she stepped back and sort of shoved Mary at him.
Mary's expression was tense with worry as she followed River up to Sam. "Sam?" She wanted to reach out, to hug and to hold, but he wasn't a little kid. He didn't need her help the way he might have had he been little.
Releasing Bo, Sam reached out to his mother instead. Far more than River or Bo, she needed the reassurance, and even if he wasn't upset or scared, he'd never had a chance to learn like other kids that everything was okay when their mother hugged them. So maybe it was more the other way this time, but Sam pulled her into his arms and hugged her tightly. "I'm okay, Mom. I promise."
Despite Sam being taller and grown, Mary hugged him back like he was six months-old again. It was tight and strangely steady even though inside of her there was a war of fear and stress and relief and guilt from feeling useless, again. "I'm glad you're okay." And before she even thought about what she was doing, she turned her head and kissed his temple.
Semi-consciously, Sam made the same face eight year-old boys do when their moms snuggle them in public, but he kissed her cheek before he pulled away. "I'm fine. But if we leave these books sitting here instead of taking them to Illyana, none of us will be."