Despite all having their own guest rooms, the Winchesters decided to stay in Nikkol's room once again. They wanted to be there in case she needed help, and were worried that if they slept in their own rooms, then they wouldn't be able to reach her soon enough. Nikkol, of course, didn't mind this at all, and was secretly thankful for it. Isaac and Benny both went back to their respective rooms for the night, while Gabriel departed with the words, "Click your heels three times if ya need me, Nikki," before flashing away to God only knows where.
So the next morning, Nikkol stirred slightly from her slumber, only to barely acknowledge that she was entangled in the limbs of Sam and Castiel. Still tired from the last few days, however, she simply shrugged and went back to her dreamless slumber.
A few hours later, Castiel was the first one awake. Now, usually angels don't sleep, but Castiel Winchester is not your typical angel. For some reason unbeknownst to him and his brothers, he requires a few hours of sleep every few days. He would never complain about his visits to the sand man though. Those few hours of rest that he gets here and there allow him to relax without the usual worries that come with being a hunter and an angel.
Once the angel had blinked the dreariness of his tired eyes away, he looked around himself. His cheeks flushed as he realized the position he had somehow managed to find himself in. Nikkol's legs were currently wrapped around his own and she was hugging his abdomen as if he was some sort of stuffed animal that brought her comfort, whilst her head laid on his chest. He looked over further to see that Sam was spooning the tribrid with his arm over his older brother's face, who was laying horizontally at the head of the bed.
Nikkol's hair was splayed delicately across the angel's chest, with the ends of it just barely brushing Sam's face behind her. This caused the youngest Winchester's nose to twitch when she moved her head. The angel caught his gaze on the tribrid's face and was awestruck at how peaceful she appeared to be. A few pieces of her dark hair were framing her face as her lower lip was jutted out in a pout that Castiel found absolutely adorable. Her left cheek was squished against him as her face was pointed towards his own. He couldn't believe he was so lucky as to be in the presence of someone so stunning — someone whose beauty could only be described as ethereal.
Slowly, as to not disturb the sleeping woman half on top of him, Castiel took his free hand and gently brushed a few stray hairs out of Nikkol's face, exposing a narrow, jagged scar on her right temple. Even having already seen so many markings on her skin, he was still surprised when he discovered another one. No matter the scars though, he still thought — no, he knew — Nikkol Alexia Saltzman was the most beautiful being he had ever had the pleasure of laying his eyes upon.
Dean was the next one to awaken, groaning quietly as he stretched his stiff limbs. He sat up and looked around in the dark before his gaze landed on Castiel, who was now looking at him. The green eyed Winchester opened his mouth to speak, but before he could even think of anything to say the angel was holding his index finger to his own lips in a shushing sign.
The green-eyed Winchester nods, silently letting the angel know that he got the memo. Castiel then took the same finger and pointed to Nikkol. Dean's eyes softened as the corner of his lips quirked up into a smirk. His thoughts were similar to the angel's about her beauty, and how he's as lucky as he is to simply be in her presence, let alone see her looking so at ease. For once, he was in a calm, happy mood.
Until he saw the exposed scar and was reminded of all the horrid burns and scars that marred her beautiful skin. Before he could get himself too worked up though, Nikkol stirred slightly, adjusting her head in a way so the hair that the angel had brushed aside was now covering the scar again. She nuzzled her cheek into Castiel's chest for a few more seconds before finally stilling once more.
The two eldest Winchesters released a breath which they hadn't realized they were holding. They were relieved that she hadn't been waking up. Not that they didn't want her to be awake, but they wanted her to be able to relax and get the sleep that she so badly needed and deserved.
⁎⁎⁎⁎⁎
A few hours later, all three Winchesters were awake and conversing quietly whilst waiting for Nikkol to wake up. Sam and Dean had both been able to sit up, but Castiel was stuck laying down. No one would ever hear him complain about it though. Nikkol was still using him as a pillow and cuddle buddy.
They all looked towards the stairs as they heard the door open downstairs. A few seconds later, Isaac emerges from the steps. "Hey," he greets quietly as he sits down on the floor beside the bed.
"Good morning," Castiel responds at an equally quiet volume.
"Morning," Sam and Dean say simultaneously, causing the heretic to shake his head in amusement.
Isaac looked towards Nikkol before asking, "How is she?"
"She slept through the night without any problems," Sam answers.
"Thank God," a sigh of relief leaves the heretic's mouth at the information. "It usually takes her at least a week after an episode before she even thinks about sleep. This..." Isaac pauses as he waves his hand around, gesturing towards Nikkol and her three clueless soulmates, "This is some sort of miracle."
"Glad we can help," Sam says with a small smile.
"No, you don't understand. It may seem like she hasn't made much progress based on what you guys have seen, but ever since Benny introduced you guys, she's been getting better. Bit by bit," Isaac says.
"What do you mean?" Dean asks with furrowed brows.
"She's actually eating full meals now. Not all the time, but it's better than her only eating a small snack or some shit every I don't even know how many days. 'Cause that's what she was doing before she met you guys," Isaac begins to explain, leaving the three men with wide eyes.
"She's actually sleeping now, too. It's really inconsistent, but compared to before... " Isaac trails off, leaving what he was going to say up to the boys' imaginations. "She hadn't slept for weeks until a couple days before she met you. And since she did, she's slept almost every night. You don't understand how much progress she's made."
"It was that bad?" Castiel asks in shock.
"I wish it wasn't, but yeah," The heretic sighs. "She gets so scared of what will happen when she falls asleep that the adrenaline from her anxiety keeps her awake for days on end. If she starts to even slightly doze off she drinks coffee or an energy drink or something and starts drawing, painting or writing music like there's no tomorrow," Isaac says before chuckling at a thought that comes to his mind.
"What are you laughing at?" Sam frowns.
"Benny said she made you guys watch Hamilton?" Isaac asks, checking to make sure the information he was given is correct.
"Yeah, why?" Dean questions.
"We joke about her being like a female Hamilton with how much music she writes. How does she write like she's running out of time," Isaac says, singing the last bit.
Sam chuckles quietly as he remembers the lyrics Isaac is referring to. "Anyway... thank you guys. For being so patient and understanding with her," Isaac says.
"Of course," Castiel nods.
Ping!
Isaac pulls out his phone at the sound of a notification and glares at it. "Shut up," He hisses at the device, hoping it won't wake his cousin.
"Everything okay?" Sam asks the heretic, who is mumbling hushed curses at his phone while texting someone.
"Yeah, just a friend from school asking stupid questions in the group chat. I put it on silent," Isaac responds before repocketing his cellular device. "Is she still asleep?"
"She didn't even flinch," the angel answers.
Isaac scoffs, "It's ridiculous. Half the time when she sleeps, she's ready to attack if someone breathes too loudly. Then there's times like this, when she sleeps like the freaking dead."
Sam and Dean both chuckle at Isaac's apparent annoyance while Castiel furrows his brows in confusion. "Why do you seem annoyed by that?"
"I'm not, I'm glad she's getting sleep. It's just weird how she works sometimes," Isaac says.
While the group is talking, Nikkol starts to stir. Her brows furrow for a second, before her eyes flutter open slightly. She closes her eyes again and rubs the sleep out of them with her hand, her movements catching the attention of her soulmates and cousin. Her soulmates all smile as she groans and buries her face into Castiel's chest.
"Hey, sleeping beauty," Dean says.
"Shup," she slurs tiredly.
Isaac laughs at his cousin, "Hey, Nikki- OW! Bitch!"
Sam, Dean, and Castiel all laugh as Nikkol kicks her cousin in the shin, causing him to double over as he grabs his leg.
"Dumbass," she mutters as she tries to go back to sleep.
"No! Nuh-uh! No way you're going back to sleep after that, you little weasel!" Isaac shouts as he starts beating her with a pillow.
"Piss off, you whiny little shit," Nikkol mumbles as she sends the pillow flying with green wisps of magic, causing Dean to snort as Sam and Castiel laugh harder.
"It's too early for this. I'm going to get breakfast," Isaac grumbles before standing up and skipping down the stairs. He tosses the pillow back up onto the loft before the door to Nikkol's room is heard opening and shutting.
The Winchesters' laughter calms as Nikkol groans and curls into a ball against Castiel. "Are you still cold?" Sam asks her.
"Mm-hm," she hums in response.
"You appear to be warmer than you were yesterday," Castiel observes as he lays his hand on her forehead to check her temperature.
Nikkol shrugs her shoulders before pulling her blanket up higher on her shoulders. Dean sighs as he sees this. "Why don't we get dressed and get some breakfast?" He suggests.
"Are you hungry?" Nikkol questions with furrowed brows as she turns her head to face the green eyed Winchester.
"A little," Dean admits with a sheepish smile.
"Okay, I'll get dressed," she sighs before turning back over.
Her eyes widen in realization as she sees where she's been laying all night.
Practically on top of her eldest soulmate.
Her cheeks instantly flush out of embarrassment as she uses her supernatural speed to stand and rush into her closet. She closes the door and leans against it as she processes what just happened. She huffs out a breath as she runs her hands down the sides of her face. Then, quite literally, shakes herself out of her stupor, and pushes herself off of the door to gather an outfit.
She grabs a plain black t-shirt, some black leggings, an oversized navy blue hoodie, and some black and white vans. She quickly changes from her pajamas to her outfit for the day before brushing the tangles out of her wavy hair and putting a black scrunchie on her left wrist.
She then puts on some deodorant and perfume and slips back into her bedroom, where her three soulmates stand waiting for her. The breath she was taking gets caught in her throat as she sees their gazes so intensely resting on her. Her fists clench at her side as she tries to control their shaking due to her anxiety.
Did she make Castiel uncomfortable?
What if he's mad?
What if they're all mad that she kept them waiting?
What if they leave?
"Nikkol!"
She snaps out of her thoughts at the sound of Sam trying to grab her attention. "Yeah?" She asks quietly.
"Are you okay? You zoned out," Dean questions, worry clear in his eyes.
"Yeah, sorry. I'm still trying to wake up," she excuses with a faint chuckle.
"Are you sure?" Castiel asks.
"Yeah, I'm fine. Let's go eat," she says as she walks towards the door leading out to the hallway.
The three Winchesters look at each other unsure before following her out the door. As they walk further down the hall, the scents of bacon, sausage, eggs, and pancakes overwhelm their senses and they speed up slightly, their mouths watering.
All eyes turn towards the group of four as they enter the kitchen. Caroline and Elena are talking at the island whilst Stefan and Bonnie cook. Alaric is trying to take a bottle of bourbon away from Damon, whilst Enzo laughs at the debacle from the window bench and polishes his guitar. Abby, Lizzie, and Josie are finishing homework for college across the island from Elena and Caroline.
Then, there's Isaac and Stefanie. The latter of whom is throwing blueberries to Isaac from across the room. Isaac is trying to catch them in his mouth, but Stefanie appears to have spelled some of them so they blow up in his face. Isaac's face is covered in exploded blueberries, but he's being a good sport nonetheless and still trying to catch the fruit.
"Hey, Nik," Elena greets with an empathetic smile, "How're you feeling?"
"Okay. Better than the last few days," Nikkol says with a sigh as she goes to take a seat next to Enzo at the window.
Enzo greets his niece with a side hug before resuming his guitar polishing. Nikkol rubs her eyes and yawns as she catches a blueberry that Isaac attempted to chuck back at Stefanie. "You butthead!" Stefanie shrieks at Isaac as she ducks the flying fruit.
"Sorry, Nikki," Stefanie apologizes before turning to Abby. "Abigail, your brother is an idiot."
"Trust me, I know," the photographer sighs in exasperation, causing everyone but Isaac to laugh.
"Hey!" Isaac squawks as another blueberry blows up in his face.
"We told you not to play blueberry roulette after what happened last time," Bonnie chides her son.
"What happened last time?" Dean asks with an amused grin.
"He fell through an open window trying to catch one and scared the crap out of the younger students," Josie says.
"Didn't you nearly make Mr. Williams fall off the ladder in the library once?" Lizzie recalls.
"We don't talk about that," Isaac grumbles, his gaze narrowed at Lizzie.
"Just like we don't talk about Bruno," Stefanie mutters.
"Didn't I tell you to stop watching that movie? That song is getting way too old," Damon says to his daughter.
"What movie?" Sam questions.
"Encanto," everyone in the family groans.
"Annie has an obsession with Disney movies," Nikkol explains to her soulmates.
"So does Cass," Dean laughs.
"They're enjoyable!" Castiel defends.
"I never said they weren't," Dean retorts as he goes to sit next to Nikkol.
"Hey," Isaac says, making everyone groan in anticipation of whatever weird question the heretic has now. "Oh, come on! Give me a chance to talk first," he whines.
"What? What stupid question could you have possibly thought of now?" Stefan asks his nephew.
"If Annie were to give an animal at the vet vampire blood, and the animal died, would it come back as a vampire, or just stay dead?"
Everyone stares at Isaac for a minute before Damon speaks up, "What the hell did you give birth to, Bon-bon?"
"It's a legitimate question!" Isaac defends himself.
"It actually is a good question. What would happen?" Elena asks.
"Is this a normal type of conversation in your family?" Sam asks Nikkol as a discussion on the new topic sprouts amongst the supernatural family.
"Unfortunately," she sighs "Just be glad Rowan isn't here to side with him."
"I'M NOT GOING TO TEST IT ON ONE OF THE ANIMALS AT THE VET, YOU PSYCHO!" Stefanie screams as she begins chucking handfuls of exploding blueberries at Isaac.
Isaac sprints out of the room, guarding the back of his head with his hands as Stefanie chases after him, "I'm not cleaning that shit!" Nikkol yells after them.
"I'LL DO IT AFTER I KILL THIS IDIOT!" Stefanie screams back.
Everyone resumes what they were doing beforehand. A few minutes later, Stefanie comes back into the room with an empty blueberry carton. "Where's Zac?" Josie asks.
"Taking a shower. I cleaned up the mess, Nik," Stefanie answers.
"Thank you," the tribrid says to her elder cousin before turning to Enzo. "You missed a spot on the bottom."
"Thanks, pup," Enzo says to his niece before polishing said spot on his guitar.
"Alright, since he chose to be an idiot this morning, Isaac gets the last pick of the pancakes," Damon announces, "Nikki, come take your pick."
Nikkol stands up from the window bench and grabs a plate before walking over to Damon and grabbing two pancakes. "Want me to vampify them?" The raven haired Salvatore asks.
"Sure," Nikkol smirks.
Damon smiles down at his niece before arranging non-exploding blueberries in the shape of a face on her pancakes and adding two fangs with a can of whipped cream. Nikkol gives her uncle a side hug before moving down the food line to grab some eggs and bacon. She then makes her way into the dining room and sits down at her usual seat. Her soulmates soon join her, followed by the rest of the family.
"Isaac! Breakfast is ready, you snail!" Abby yells down the hall towards Isaac's room before sitting down at the table.
A few seconds later, the heretic comes speeding into the kitchen to prepare his plate before zooming over to his seat at the table. "How do ya still smell like blueberries?" Benny asks from beside Isaac.
Isaac narrows his eyes at his ravenette cousin, who gives him a knowing smirk, "Annie spelled them to make the scent linger."
"She does it every time, I don't know why you ever expect anything less," Elena chuckles at her nephew.
"I don't! It's just kinda hard to explain to my friends why I smell like blueberries every other day," Isaac explains.
"No, it's not. Just say that your cousin threw exploding blueberries at you and that you were stupid enough to try and catch them in your mouth," Caroline says as she takes a bite of her pancakes.
"Yeah, 'cause that wouldn't raise any questions," Isaac rolls his eyes at his aunt's sarcastic suggestion.
Nikkol shakes her head in amusement as she eats a blueberry. It had been a while since she attended breakfast with her chaotic family. She watches as her soulmates all snicker at the conversations that take place while they eat their food. She was glad they were safe and able to relax. She knew from experience how guarded you had to be when dealing with the supernatural world. The amount of enemies one could make, wars you could cause, just by pissing off the wrong person. The thought of how many her soulmates had terrified her.
The tribrid is pulled out of her thoughts by Sam nudging her leg with his own. She looks over at her youngest mate to see him already staring at her. He gives her a questioning look, to which she smiles softly and takes a bite of her pancakes. Sam smiles back at her as he takes a bite of his own food before tuning back into the conversation.
"So you're saying that if your friend told you that blueberries exploded in their face, you wouldn't wanna know why? Or what caused the berries to explode?" Isaac asks Damon.
"I'm not saying I wouldn't, I'm saying that I would ignore it because I've heard and experienced weirder things," Damon replies nonchalantly.
"What if you hadn't, though? What if that was the weirdest thing you'd ever heard in your life?" Isaac questions.
"Then I would question what kind of people I'm friends with," the older Salvatore says, causing everyone to nod in agreement.
"That's funny," Stefan chuckles at his brother.
"What's that supposed to mean?" Damon looks at his younger brother accusingly.
"Nothing. You just used to run with some pretty weird people," Stefan chuckles as he stuffs some eggs into his mouth
"Ooh! Tell us," Stefanie pleads her uncle.
"Well, in the 70's-" Stefan starts to say with a mischievous smile, but his brother yells at him, "No! We don't talk about that Godforsaken time!"
Bonnie clenches her fist in the air before turning to Stefan with a curious gleam in her eyes, "Please, do tell."
Damon tries to open his mouth to protest once again, but finds himself unable to. He then goes to throw a blueberry at Bonnie, but finds that he also can't move his arms. He leans back in his chair, letting out a huff of irritation as he prepares for the teasing he knows will come from his family in the next few minutes.
"Your dad used to run with a bunch of hippies. Had longer hair, wore bell bottoms, scarves, tassel vests, the whole nine yards. I think I might actually have some pictures stored somewhere," Stefan says.
"I will literally pay you to give me any embarrassing pictures you have of my dad," Stefanie says with eager eyes.
"I would've done it for free, but sure," Stefan shrugs with a smirk.
Bonnie unclenches her fist and Damon is suddenly cursing out his brother, "I swear to God, Stefan!"
Everyone laughs at the raven haired Salvatore's expense, causing him to glare and grumble before sitting back down in his seat. Damon mumbles something under his breath and smirks, causing his younger brother to go wide eyed in fear.
"What did you just say?" Stefan asks in horror.
"Nothing. Just that I'd get Nikki to switch your hair gel with glue when you least expect it," Damon grins maniacally.
"Please don't! I had to deal with broody Stefan for nearly three months last time," Caroline pleads.
"Hey!" Stefan shouts in offense.
"He's your soulmate, blondie. You're stuck with each other for the rest of your immortal lives," Damon points out. Caroline rolls her eyes at the comment, but smiles anyway, grasping her soulmate's hand in her own.
Nikkol tenses slightly at the mention of soulmates. Luckily for her, it goes unnoticed as everyone is too focused on the big conversation. The tribrid takes a bite of her pancakes as she listens to her family banter casually.
⁎⁎⁎⁎⁎
After breakfast, Nikkol was shooed away from doing dishes by her family, causing her soulmates to laugh while she grumbled under her breath before settling in the conversation pit of the living room. The Winchesters sit down with her in the conversation pit as Isaac turns on the TV and puts on a random comedy show.
Her family members slowly trickle into the room to join the group, all settling into seats around the room to watch whatever Isaac had put on the TV. "What are we watching?" Damon asks as he settles onto the couch next to Elena.
Isaac shrugs in response, "Some show on TV."
"No, really?! I thought we were watching a live broadcast of Taylor Swift's inauguration into the White House," Stefanie says sarcastically.
"Shut up," Isaac throws a pillow at his elder cousin.
Nikkol and her soulmates all snicker at the banter between the two. "You're both idiots," Dean laughs.
Both teenagers gasp at the Winchester in mock offense before meeting gazes with each other and smirking. Nikkol laughs as she recognizes the mischievous look in her cousins' eyes, "Oh, shit."
Dean looks at Nikkol in question before being hit in the face with two pillows simultaneously. The green-eyed Winchester squawks in surprise before diving over the back of the couch and scrambling to his feet to get away from the pillow onslaught. Isaac and Stefanie chase after Dean as he runs around the living room in an attempt to get away from the pillow-throwing teenagers. Everyone laughs at Dean's expense.
After about 10 minutes of the three running around the living room, Isaac and Stefanie both sit down in their previous spots. Dean walks over and plops down in the conversation pit with Nikkol and his two brothers. Sam is sitting on Nikkol's left, Castiel on Nikkol's right. The tribrid in the center, pats the spot in front of her for the older Winchester to sit down. Dean smiles as he does so, laying back and resting his head in Nikkol's lap.
A light blush appears on Nikkol's cheeks as Dean lays his head in her lap. A small smile graces her features as she moves her hands to play with Dean's hair, running her fingers through his brown locks. Dean smiles softly at the feeling of Nikkol's touch, relaxing as he watches the show on the TV.
A few minutes later, Sam's phone dings with a notification. Everyone glances at him for a second before focusing their attention back on the TV. Sam grabs his phone out of his pocket and checks the notification, finding a text from Bobby.
"Guys," The youngest Winchester calls for his brothers' attention. Both older Winchester's glance at him, waiting for him to speak.
"Chuck just texted. Life-or-death situation," Sam says.
"Is he okay?" Castiel questions.
"I don't know. That's all he said besides sending an address," Sam shrugs.
"You try texting him back?" Dean questions, his brow furrowed.
"Yeah, he's not responding..." Sam trails off worriedly.
"Who's Chuck?" Nikkol speaks up.
"A friend of ours. He's a prophet," Dean explains to the brunette as he sits up.
"Wait... a prophet... you mean like those guys from the bible that tell the future?" Stefanie asks in curiosity.
"Yes," Castiel responds to the Salvatore bluntly.
"We should go check it out then," Dean says as he stands up from his spot in the conversation pit.
His brothers follow, heading towards their rooms to grab their stuff. "I'm coming with you," Nikkol says abruptly.
"Okay," Sam says as he and his brothers hide their smiles, excited by the prospect of having their crush come along with them on the road.
"I'll go get my stuff," Nikkol says as she too stands up and heads to her room.
A few minutes later, all three Winchesters and Nikkol meet up in the living room, their bags slung over their shoulders. Nikkol quickly says goodbye to her family, giving everyone hugs.
"Be careful, okay?" Alaric says as he hugs his youngest daughter.
"I will," Nikkol tells her dad as he kisses the crown of her head. "I'll text one of you when we're done."
"Okay. We love you, Nikki," The headmaster tells her.
Nikkol smiles up at her dad, "Love you too." Then, she walks out the door with her three soulmates.
The tribrid and her soulmates rush outside to the Impala and load their belongings into the trunk before sliding into the vehicle. Dean quickly puts the key into the ignition, the engine roaring to life. Dean turns his head to look back at Nikkol, who is sitting next to Castiel in the back seat, "Ready, sweetheart?"
Nikkol smiles at the green-eyed Winchester, "Always."