Infinite Consortium - Wee Hours of the Morning, Sunday

[single_man_tear]

It had been a long time since Dean and Bobby had done research together. It had also been a long time since they've had a sleepless night. But ever since the events late Saturday night, both of them either had their noses in books or their eyes on a computer screen searching for some sort of antidote/cure for Arden.

A coffee pot was brewing as both of them yawned and did their best to stay awake.

"Find anything?"

[Open. Dean and Bobby being at the consortium is okay to broadcast. Reason for research and any conversations are NFB.]

Comments

[idjitsandballs]

"I've got nothing," Bobby grumbled as he snapped close another book. "And you're sure it's not a hex bag?"

[single_man_tear]

"Yes, because there were literal nails in the girl's arm, Bobby," Dean said not even looking up from his current book.

[idjitsandballs]

"And you can't take them out yourself because why exactly?" Bobby grunted as he picked up another book.

[single_man_tear]

"Because it's a whole bunch of damn Fey crap," Dean muttered, clearly tired of going over it again. "I told you, Bobby. Whoever put those nails in has got to be the one to pull 'em out. Fey rules, man. If we yank 'em, they’ll just put 'em back in, and she’ll have to go through it all over again. I don’t think she’ll survive that."

[idjitsandballs]

"And we're not just killing them because..."

Look, it was a valid point from Bobby's point of view.

[single_man_tear]

Dean let out a sigh and pulled away from the table to get another cup of coffee. "Because I'm worried that if we kill them before the nails are removed we'll have more of their kind showing up here. And I don't want that."

He briefly considered drinking directly from the coffee pot but then went ahead and just poured it into the mug. That was a Clint schtick. Dean can't be stealing that from him.

"I will however hunt those a-holes down after this is all over and make them pay."

[idjitsandballs]

"Now that sounds like the Dean Winchester I used to know," Bobby said with a snort of amusement.

[single_man_tear]

Now that gave Dean a little pause. "What do you mean 'used to know'?"

[idjitsandballs]

Bobby slid his coffee mug toward Dean and leaned back, giving him a gruff look. "Well, the Dean I knew would've shot first and then kept shooting just to make sure the damn thing was dead," he said, smirking. "I don't know if you’ve noticed, kid, but you ain’t the same guy anymore. You got a girlfriend now. People you care about who ain’t hunters. You ain't running off half-cocked on some revenge mission every time somebody gets hurt. Hell, you're thinking about hanging it up."

He paused, eyeing Dean like he was trying to put it all together. "You’ve changed. You found yourself a home, son."

Then, because the moment was getting a little too mushy, Bobby grabbed another book off the pile and started flipping through it. "Damn proud of you, too."

[single_man_tear]

Dean huffed out a breath, rolling his eyes, but there was a hint of a smile on his face. "Yeah, well, don't get all weepy on me, Bobby," he muttered, as he leaned forward and topped off Bobby's mug, avoiding eye contact.

"I guess I’m settling down or something." He shook his head, half in disbelief. "Still feels weird, you know? But maybe... maybe you're right." He sat back, eyes narrowing like he was weighing it all in his head. "Not sure I’m cut out for the whole white picket fence crap, but I guess slowing down ain’t the worst idea."

Dean glanced back at Bobby, smirking. "Just don’t expect me to start wearing a damn apron or anything."

[idjitsandballs]

"Does that mean you liked the pedicure you got yesterday?" Bobby teased as he flipped a page of the book.

[single_man_tear]

"Shut up," Dean said with a snort of derision.

[idjitsandballs]

"You know you can make recurring appointments every couple of weeks," Bobby continued. "Maybe next time you can pick out a pretty shade of nail polish."

[single_man_tear]

"That's big talk from a guy who watched Tori & Dean on a regular basis," Dean shot back.

[idjitsandballs]

Bobby snorted, giving Dean a side-eye like he couldn't believe what he just heard. "Listen, boy, I don’t need to defend a damn thing about what I watched," he grumbled, crossing his arms over his chest. "That show’s got drama, and I like a good trainwreck, alright? Plus, don’t even act like you’re too good for it, Mr. Dr. Sexy."

He leaned forward, jabbing a finger at Dean for emphasis. "Tori and Dean? They’re a disaster, but they’re real people. Hell, they deal with enough crap to rival our kind of mess, and without salt rounds or holy water."

[single_man_tear]

Dean would have reveled a bit more in getting Bobby on a 'Tori & Dean' tirade but was interrupted by a buzz on his phone. An update from Kamala.

Dean frowned. "She's not getting better and it's at least another two hours before those nails are coming out."

[idjitsandballs]

"Then we better keep looking," Bobby said with a sigh and taking a gulp from his mug. "It's weird though. Fey in our world are vulnerable to iron, not bronze."

He paused a moment, then got up and started rummaging through the collection of old books.

[single_man_tear]

Dean's hopes started to rise. He's seen Bobby do this a million times, snatching an idea out of nowhere. "What? What is it?"

[idjitsandballs]

Bobby shushed him and spent another moment digging through the pile before he found the one he was looking for. He opened the book and pushed through several pages and grinned. He tossed a dusty old book onto the table with a grunt, looking up at Dean with a triumphant glint in his eye. "There it is," he said, wiping his hands like he’d just finished working under the hood of a car. "It’s old magic, Fey-related. Pretty nasty stuff, but this’ll do the trick."

[single_man_tear]

Dean immediately pulled the book closer to himself and started scanning through the page. "Minotaur horn?"

[idjitsandballs]

"That’s just to give the whole thing a punch. You need something strong enough to shock their system back into working order," Bobby explained. "See, it ain't just regular metal poisoning. With this kind of thing, everything’s got an extra layer of trickery to it. This mix? Bloodroot and Elderberry, they purify the system, flush out the toxins. Devil’s shoestring binds magic back together, keeps it from falling apart. Hollyhock’s got healing properties and Jezebel root... Well I don't know what the hell it does in this mix but it sure won't make it taste better."

[single_man_tear]

"Well I've got everything she needs except of course for the minotaur horn," Dean grumbled. "Where in hell am I supposed to find that?"

[idjitsandballs]

"That I might be able to help you with. Back when we were dealing with the Leviathans, I heard a tale about quarry out in Montana, uh... the Midnight Quarry. Lot of strange deaths crop up every couple of years which include people getting gored with a strange type of horn. And that mine has deep, winding tunnels dug into the earth. A labyrinth where these things like to hide."

[single_man_tear]

"Geez, Bobby, why didn't we handle that earlier?" Dean asked in disbelief.

[idjitsandballs]

"Because I learned about it and then died, ya idjit," Bobby snarked back.