Oscar barely slipped an inch before his back impacted against something wide and warm, with a tough surface and a little give to it. A pulse thudded behind his back and he realized it was the human’s palm.
Then, fingers and a thumb bigger than him snaked into view. They curled around Oscar faster than he could cry out or even lift his own hands to push at them, and soon enough they tightened around his small body. The light from above winked out as Oscar disappeared completely in a fist that could probably smash half his home with ease.
He yelped when a voice, a deep, rumbling voice, boomed overhead. “Gotcha!” The word sent ice into Oscar’s every nerve ending.
A little story from Kara while her daddy was missing!
Kara sniffled, brushing away a tear as she curled into a ball.
Her dad was gone. Christian was gone, and she had no idea how to get him back.
Her tiny form was hidden away in the walls, just like he’d always told her to do if she was in trouble. Stay out of sight, out of reach, beyond notice by any humans. She had to choke down her cries, forcing herself to stay quiet in the vents.
She’d run long and hard to get away from that terrible, horrid room where he’d been taken from. Why? Why him, why now, why did she have to lose the last person she had in her life?
Her mom was gone, nice old Mikael had vanished a week ago, and now daddy had followed, grabbed in huge hands.
She blinked her grey eyes open again, and uncurled enough to creep along the vent. The metal was cold to the touch, but it wasn’t on. If she heard the clanking motors activate deep in the bowels of the motel, she’d be forced to find a new place to hide.
Ahead, there was a slit. She came up to it, peering out to see where she was.
One of the motel rooms stretched out before her, and she very nearly ducked back down. But there were no humans up and about, just one guy sitting on the bed down there. The television was on nearby, and she stared at it. Her dad had told her about televisions before. How they could show humans things that happened very far away.
This one had a white forest on the screen, and her grey eyes reflected the sight of gentle snowflakes landing on the ground.
It was so peaceful and idyllic. A scene that Kara would never be able to see outside of the walls.
She took a deep breath, holding the image in her head. Peace. She needed to get her daddy back so they could find some peace of their own.
The human shifted, and her terrified eyes flashed back to him. He was huge. Why did humans have to be so massive?
Him moving caught her attention to something she’d missed. On his shoulder, there was another man.
The human’s voice was drowned out by her shocked reaction. She almost scrambled away from the vent, then inched forward once more to see if she’d been imagining things.
But no. It wasn’t her imagination. There was a man on the human’s shoulder, and he looked as relaxed as anyone she’d seen. No fear, no worry. Casual words exchanged between the two of them as they argued over what they should do next. The human stood and snapped off the television, dispelling the image of the snowy forest.
Kara blinked, then her resolved firmed. When the human wasn’t around, she needed to talk to this new guy. Sam.
What if indeed! Poor Oscar is one of my smallest characters and Jacob is one of my tallest! This is such a cute AU idea. Jacob’s meeting with Bowman was so touch and go, because the little sprite snarked up a storm! Oscar is definitely not the same personality type, so it was fun to see how differently Jacob would act with his first tiny encounter with such a timid little guy.
There was nothing interesting on TV, but that didn’t really come as a surprise. Jacob didn’t watch a lot of television, and decent movies were tough to find on the channels offered by the kinds of small-town motels he chose on his frequent road trips. They went for basic, and that was always hit-or-miss.
Not that Breckenridge was particularly small. Jacob had chosen a little motel in the summer, however, a time when business in an area known for skiing could take a dip. Mountains stood tall and proud against the sky out the window while he lounged on the bed. It was a good place to stop and rest, even with the tacky decorations and worn-down character of the place.
While he settled on a channel showing old cowboy movies, Jacob mused about staying an extra day in Breckenridge. He could wander around and enjoy the mountain air, and the jagged horizon that stood tall and stoic all around. It contrasted with his usually endless horizon view back in Iowa, where the sky was a dome.
A quiet sound derailed his thoughts. On the edge of hearing, occurring between lines on the movie, Jacob thought he heard a rustling noise. It ended as soon as he heard it, but his ears primed to the sound to listen harder anyway. He pinpointed the source easily: his backpack.
Nothing had stirred since Jacob started watching, and he need to help keep his only friends in the world right now from harm. Even if it meant directly going against what they’d told him to do.
They’ll thank me later. Maybe.
Jacob stooped down to scoop each brother onto a hand and off the ground.
He looked over Sam and Dean in his hands hastily, before glancing up at the farmhouse again. There was no time. “Sorry, guys…” His hands were shoved carefully into his hoodie pocket to let the pair slide off his palms. They’d be safe in there for a short trip, and he needed his hands free.
Jacob watched them go with wide eyes, practically holding his breath. A small part of him worried that they might not come back. That they would get caught and sent to jail, or that they’d simply run away to leave him behind. He had to tell himself that they wouldn’t have left their bags if they planned to do that.
Once they were far enough ahead, he scooted forward just a bit and sat himself down. He had a good view of the fence they hopped over, and the field beyond it too. He’d keep watch for their return.
In the meantime, he looked curiously down at their bags. They were so tiny, and he couldn’t even see the zippers on them. Jacob smirked at the sight of the claimed quarter sticking out of Dean’s bag.
Jacob lifted a hand, ready to scoop them up again in preparation for the hike. Then, Dean’s insistence from before barked in his memory and he paused. Hesitantly, he lowered his hand instead to make his fingers a ramp up to his palm.
“You guys shouldn’t be on the ground in the woods while I’m walking,” he explained.
Walt quickly had to pull his hand out of Mallory’s grip, shifting to cover her mouth and stifle her cries. Noise was dangerous, noise could get them all caught or killed.
Normally, Mallory knew this as well as Walt, but right now she was beyond caring.
“Shhh, shhh…” Walt comforted his little wife, carefully cupping his hand under her small chin to tilt her face towards him. “You’re doing great, sweetheart.”
Mallory’s shoulders shook, and tears ran down her face, but she met Walt’s piercing, blue-eyed gaze with her own. Her face was red, and her hair was streaked with sweat.
“Give her this,” Katrine said, bustling over to press a moist torn shred of a paper towel into Walt’s hands. “On the forehead, cool her down.” She grinned at Mallory. “He’s right, you’re doing great,” she cooed, long years showing in the lines on her face. “Brennan will be back with food for everyone.”
Walt dabbed the cloth against Mallory’s face, brushing the sweat away. He pushed away any of his fears for her, knowing how dangerous labor could be. If he’d known it was like this, he wouldn’t have wanted her pregnant, or to risk her frail constitution. But when Mallory had been Katrine’s midwife earlier that year for the quiet Krissy, they’d kept both the men busy and out of the house.
The next contraction hit, but this time Mallory held in her cry. Her body seized up, almost writhing.
“Walt, hold her down! Don’t let her get hurt!” Katrine commanded severely.
Walt took Mallory’s hand again, letting her slim fingers grab onto his and clench with all her might. Another contraction hit, and then…
A little cry came from where Katrine was, and she straightened with a tiny bundle in her arms, wrapped in the blue and pink cloth Mallory had made just for the occasion. With expert ease, Katrine swaddled the child up and gave Walt a brilliant smile.
“It’s a girl.”
Walt almost didn’t breathe as the tiny bundle was placed into his arms. Mallory slumped down into herself, almost shrinking into the nest of fabric they’d set up for her.
“Did you hear that?” Walt asked, his face glowing as he looked from the tiny child to his young wife. “It’s a girl. Briella, that’s Mallory, your mom.”
Mallory opened her eyes slowly, and managed a smile of her own. Walt knelt on the floor, and held the baby out to Mallory.
“I hate camping,” Dean grumbled, heading in the opposite direction past Jacob. Bobby Singer had tried to get the boys used to camping and hunting live game out in the forest when they were kids, but found that they only retained the lessons on tracking.
Jacob had to do his best to hide the amused glint in his eyes and keep it from showing in a smile. He remained still for a few more seconds and watched Dean march along in a direction that was only slightly more correct. If he didn’t have Jacob around to help, he would probably skip right past the clearing by the cliff.
Jacob noticed something gleaming and throwing back sunlight sticking out of Dean’s little duffel bag as the tiny guy stuffed his sawed-off inside. It brought a knowing grin to his face, and he curled a thumb inward to nudge at the quarter. “Where’d you find that?” he asked.
Dean jerked away from the thumb, caught off guard once more by how fast Jacob could move. “Watch it!” he bitched, trying to bat at a digit the size of his body and far more powerful. His hand hit the side of Jacob’s thumbnail, grazing off without a hope of leaving a mark.
Brothers Apart 