Broken {Supernatural Fanfic}

3. Wounds

"Repeat to yourself the most comforting words of all: This, too, shall pass"- Ann Landers

When the girl started crying Rebecca leaned down and actually picked her up. Sam had thought she would have dodged out of the way or flinched or something but she just leaned against Becky's shoulder and cried. "It's all right sweetheart," Becky crooned gently. "It's all over. Everything's going to be okay." She glanced at Sam, obviously wanting to ask something. He shook his head, not wanting to upset the girl any more than she already was. "My house?" Becky mouthed and Sam nodded. She turned then and walked toward her home, still whispering to the girl.

"Well that was unexpected," Dean said after a minute.

"Tell me about it," Sam replied. "I didn't think she'd let anyone that close to her." There was a pause as they both watched Becky walk down the street. "We'd better get walking," Sam said after a moment. "Or Becky will lock us out."

"Would she really?" Dean asked curiously.

"Yes," came the succinct response. They started walking.

~

Becky carried the girl inside, sympathy coiling in her chest. "I'm going to put you down now, all right sweetie?" Becky asked. She got a nod in response and she carefully placed the girl down, offering her hand. The girl took it immediately. "Come on, let's get you cleaned up." Becky led the way to the bathroom. "Can you start the bathtub filling while I go look for some clothes for you?" The girl nodded and when Becky left she heard water running.

She headed to her closet, knowing she had some of her cousin Chelsea's clothes from when she'd been that age. That had been two years ago but Becky had yet to get rid of them. She pulled the dusty box out and opened it, coughing. There was a picture of Chelsea on top of the clothes. She was a cheerful girl with blond curls and a bright smile. It was odd how much difference there was between Chelsea and the little girl in her bathroom. She sighed and dug out a dress. It was short sleeved and pale blue, one of Chelsea's favorites before she had outgrown it.

She dug out some underwear as well (Chelsea had wanted to move in with her for a while) and headed back for the bathroom. The water was shut off just as she entered the room. "I brought you some clothes," Becky told the girl. "Are you going to be all right bathing by yourself?" The girl nodded solemnly. Becky smiled and put down the clothes. "Call me when you're done and I'll help take care of any injuries." Then she left closing the bathroom door behind her.

~

Autumn gazed at the water with no small amount of trepidation. She knew she was going to hurt worse than she did now when she slipped into it. Finally the urge to be clean won out. She undressed and sank into the water, whimpering and then letting out a sigh of relief as the water sank into her bones and aching muscles. She scrubbed herself completely clean, ignoring the dizzying pain of her latest wound.

She watched the water turn black as she scrubbed. Then she drained it out and turned on the tap, unbraiding her hair and washing it as well. Finally she was clean for the first time in months. She stepped out, letting the rest of water drain away as she first dried her hair and then wrapped herself in a towel. That was when she smelled the lavender. Suddenly she was crying again. Lavender had been Rosanna's favorite scent and here it was from the fabric softener used on the towels.

She controlled herself quickly with a few frightened hiccups. She remembered what Rebecca said and said, "Rebecca?" Her voice wasn't louder than a whisper and it still scared her death. Josiah hadn't wanting her talking. She would have been hit for what she just did. It took all her strength to force her voice louder. "Rebecca?"

"Yes sweetheart? Are you finished?" came the gentle replied.

"Y-yes," she managed to get out, voice wavering. Rebecca came in then. Autumn was shaking now but the older girl didn't say anything about it.

"Let's check out that cut," she said instead and Autumn let her pull back the towel to glance at the cut. "Oh that's nasty." She stood and went to a medicine cabinet, pulling out some kind of salve. Then she dug around in another cabinet, finally coming out with a triumphant smile and a bandage large enough to cover the wound. "I thought I had one of these left. My brother Zack brought some some when we went camping a couple years back. I swear he thought I was going to fall and gash my leg every time we went hiking."

Rebecca applied the salve and then the bandage. "There, all done," she said in a cheerful tone that didn't match the sadness in her eyes. Autumn nodded silently and slipped into the clothing Rebecca had brought.

~

Seeing the girl draped in Chelsea's old clothes hurt like nothing else she'd seen before. The wound had made Rebecca annoyed but this, this was different. Seeing the girl so thin and lost looking in Chelsea's old dress made her want to cry. Cry and then find the shapeshifter's body, bring him back to life, and kill him again in the most painful way possible.  Instead she smiled and said cheerfully, "Can you tell me your name?"

"A-autumn." The reply was barely a whisper and it clearly terrified the little girl to speak at all.

"How old are you Autumn?" Rebecca asked softly.

"S-seven," the girl stammered.

"Your only a year younger than my cousin," Rebecca told her, offering Autumn a hand. The girl hesitated for a moment before taking the offered hand. She led Autumn out into the kitchen where Dean and Sam were talking softly. She could still see the ring of bruises around Sam's neck from where the shapeshifter had tried to strangle him. "Did you get that checked out?" she asked and Sam gave her a fond smile.

"I'll be fine Becky. The bruises will be gone in a couple days," he informed her.

"Your trachea could have been crushed or damaged," she protested even though she knew she was being silly. It was just that after Jess's death and Sam's almost death she was feeling definitely unsettled.

"I'm fine Becky," Sam repeated patiently and she forced herself to nod. He's fine Becky. Stop fussing. She noticed Autumn yawning out of the corner of her eye and turned to the little girl with a gentle smile.

"Come on sweetheart," she said. "Let's get you some place that you can sleep." She led Autumn back to her bedroom and got the little girl settled before she left, leaving the door open a crack. She paused, watching Autumn drift off to sleep and feeling a few tears drip down her cheeks before she turned and headed back to the kitchen. She knew Sam. He would want to know what was going on and it would be up to her to give the official report.