Ellanora's Realm

Meme

2009-11-13T01:44:29Z

Over the last week, I've gotten a few new comments on some of my fics, which was awesome, and made me start thinking more actively about Chloe/Dean again. So I thought this, which I've seen on a few journals now, might be fun to do, if anyone wants to comment.

Pick a paragraph (or any passage less than 500 words) from any fanfic I've written, and comment to this post with that selection. I will then give you a DVD commentary on that snippet: what I was thinking when I wrote it, why I wrote it in the first place, what's going on in the character's heads, why I chose certain words, what this moment means in the context of the rest of the fic, lots of awful puns, and anything else that you'd expect to find on a DVD commentary track.

Halloween pics

2009-11-02T02:43:25Z

Behind the cut, a pic of my son as Dean Winchester, and my niece as Pocahontas:

Cute, yes?
.

Giving it a shot

2009-10-22T19:53:21Z

Thanks for those that responded to my questions about Twitter. I've signed up and am going to give it a try, see how I like it. I'm on as ellanorasedai there as well, if you're interested. Feel free to comment with your username if you want me to follow you. :)

Twitter - For or Against?

2009-10-21T17:51:43Z

As much as I love spending time on my computer (practically 24/7, sigh) and as much as I love travelling and seeing new places and cultures, I am not really what you would call a social butterfly. I've only been on livejournal a little over a year, and that was purely to explore the fanfic stories in my head, and read others' stories. I've avoided websites like MySpace and Facebook for a variety of reasons; 1) they seem even more time consuming and I have no time left to give, 2) I have no interest in being "found" by certain individuals from my past.

I do not feel like I'm missing out on anything with those social sites. However, Twitter seems to be in the process of becoming more important. I don't really have an interest in sharing the minutia of my daily grind, but it seems there are a lot of columnists or otherwise interesting people that post actual information that could be fun/useful to follow.

So tell me - should I get a Twitter account? Any pros or cons? Is it that big of a deal? Is it better than the social sites? Your comments are appreciated.

Birthday tidings, and why technology sucks sometimes

2009-10-04T23:43:45Z

Happy Belated Birthday, pen37!! I hope you are having a wonderful weekend!

My reason for the belatedness?? My modem and router have broken up with each other, and are no longer on speaking terms. I was on the phone until almost midnight Wednesday having the modem reset over and over as I tried to get it worked out, but the router refused to budge no matter how many times the modem apologized. Today I introduced a new, shinier router to the broken-hearted modem, and after some initial resistance, they are coexisting in harmony. I wish them a long, peaceful partnership. :)

Sadly, the wireless printer is apparently siding with the old router, and is refusing to play nice with the new one. Now I can't print anything. But at least I can get online and post birthday wishes. :)

Day 1 of my cruise review - with some pics

2009-09-27T18:39:27Z

As you all know, my son, Noah, and I recently took a cruise on the Carnival Freedom out of Fort Lauderdale. I'm going to post a review in case anyone might be interested in what it's like to cruise (hint: it's fabulous.) There will be some pics included in the review, so not dial up friendly.

On with Day 1:

We live four hours north of Port Everglades, and originally intended to drive down the morning of the cruise. However, while researching the parking fees, I read about the hotels where you can stay the night before and leave your car for the week. It was $90 to park at the garage; it was $99 for the pre-cruise stay at the Springhill Suites, which included parking and a shuttle to the port. Seemed like a better use of $$, so that’s what we did.

I was extremely pleased with the Springhill Suites; the rooms were large and comfortable, with the back half being the bedroom, and the front half as the living area. The beds were extremely comfortable, and we slept very well. There was a 20 inch TV for the bedroom, and a large widescreen flatscreen in the living area, which also had a couch and chair, desk and chair, and large wet bar area with sink, small refrigerator, microwave, and coffee machine.

The bedroom area:

The living area:

There was a lovely outdoor pool with a waterfall and a hot tub. We sat in the hot tub and met another family who would be on our cruise, and who we continued to see and greet throughout the week. After the hot tub, we tossed our swimsuits in the dryer and repacked them.

The pool and hot tub:

The free “deluxe continental” breakfast included cooked egg patties, sausage patties, breads, pastries, cereals, fruit, and do-it-yourself waffle makers. The seating area was large, but pretty filled up with people eating before their cruise or other activities, so we took our plates back to the room and ate there.

After breakfast, we checked out and boarded the shuttle. The return shuttle after the cruise is not included in the stay, however, you can either plan to get a taxi, or purchase the same shuttle ahead of time, which is what we did. $8 per person, and they give you a receipt and stickers to show the driver when you return from your cruise.

We arrived at the port at 10:55 AM. The shuttle driver unloaded our bags, which we then took and turned in to the baggage area, then got in line to check in. The only line we could find entering the building was marked with VIP tape, so I asked a Carnival rep if we should be in it, and she said yes, it was the only line open for everyone. The line was a little ways outside the building, and I had read about how the line at this port could get long outside, and I thought we were experiencing this, but no. The line moved fairly quickly inside. Later, at about 1:00 PM when we were on the ship, we looked over the edge outside and saw the line stretched waaaaaaaay down the sidewalk towards the parking garage. I was amazed, and those poor people had to have been sweltering in the heat.

We were all checked in inside the terminal at 11:30, so we sat down to wait. And wait, and wait, and wait some more. At 12:00, a Carnival rep walked by and told a couple sitting near us that they were just finishing disembarking, and they should be calling zone numbers to embark soon. Sure enough, we were onboard by 12:45. We headed up to the lido deck for lunch.

Now, previous to this cruise, I had not been impressed with the lunch buffet food on Carnival. And I’m talking about the regular buffet line with the “Taste of Nations” not the specialty offerings. However, we found a number of things on this buffet that was tasty. In fact, the food in general throughout our cruise was very, very good.

We finished eating at 1:30, and so walked down to check out our cabin – our very first balcony!! Deck 6, room 6442, the L shaped cabin on the port side. We LOVED this cabin, and the extended balcony! Now I will say, this cabin isn’t for everyone. It is directly over the stage areas of two of the aft lounges, and the music and thrumming from the beat comes through pretty loud at night. If you are an early sleeper, I would avoid this room entirely, or try to get the L shaped on Deck 7 instead. However, the music was always over by 12:30 AM, and we never went to bed before that (my son’s activities always ran until at least 12:30) so by the time we turned in, all was quiet and comfortable. This room also had our most favorite room steward so far, Melvin. He was phenomenal – the room seemed in perfect order every time we opened the door, and he was always nice to talk to in the hallways.

The cabin:

The balcony:

We left our carry on bags in the cabin and went back up to the lido deck to find the aft bar. I purchased a soda card for Noah, this allows him to get as many sodas as he wants over the length of the cruise instead of paying for them separately. For myself, I purchased a Drink of the Day card. Every day, there's a featured drink at all of the bars. Buying the drink of the day card is basically the cost of four drinks, but you get five total out of the card, so buy four get one free. I don't do a lot of drinking when it's just Noah and me, but I like to have the fruity drinks on occasion, so this worked out great. Over the six day cruise, I had the five specialty drinks, plus a dirty banana (a banana daquiri plus kahlua).

My first drink of the day, the Funship Special:

At around 4 PM, it was time for the muster drill. This is where you grab your lifejackets from your cabin and make your way to the assigned muster station for your cabin, usually on one of the decks where the lifeboats are. It usually involves standing in the heat for about 15 minutes with your lifejacket on and listening to the safety spiel. It's not exactly fun, but it's not a big deal, and it's good to know where to go in an emergency.

Noah at muster drill:

After muster, we stored our lifejackets back in our cabin and headed back up on deck for sailaway. It's always exciting to finally start the cruise! The coast guard boat followed alongside, and ran the sirens and did loop-di-loops and donuts around us, which was pretty neat to watch. As we passed by the final coastline and beach, some of the teenage boys out on the jetties dropped their drawers and mooned us. Freaks.

The jetties, the site of the mooning, although you can't see the offenders:

After sailaway, we headed back to our cabin to change for dinner. This ship had two dinner times, 6 PM and 8:15 PM. We had the earlier dinner; it fits better with our usual schedule. Also, Noah likes the novelty of ordering room service in the middle of the night, but the late dinner keeps us from being hungry enough to take advantage.

The food in the main dining rooms is excellent. Everything was prepared well and was tasty.

Noah had flat iron steak with peppercorn sauce:

I had the sweet and sour shrimp:

For dessert, we each had cappuccino, and shared two desserts:

Creme Brulee:

Warm Chocolate Melting Cake:

Sorry for some of the partly eaten dishes. ;) I would forget to pull out the camera before taking a few bites, and Noah would remind me "Mom! Pictures!"

After dinner, we signed Noah up for his age group 12-14 activities, called Circle C. They did various things, sports, scavenger hunts, games, video games, discos and dancing, etc. He had a blast with this group all week.

We also went to the show that night in the main theater, the Welcome Aboard Show. This involved some of the singing and dancing entertainers, as well as jokes and talking by the cruise director. A cruise director doesn't make or break a cruise, but a good one can definitely enhance the cruising experience, and ours was great. Very funny, and with different jokes then we had heard on previous cruises.

After the show, Noah went to his Circle C activities until 1:00 AM, and I hit the casino and had fun spending $30 on the quarter slot machines. At 1:00 AM, I met up with Noah and we went back to the cabin to get some sleep before our first port day in Key West. :)

Trash

2009-09-21T04:02:49Z

So I cleaned out my garage yesterday. And by cleaned out, I mean "literally empty." It is AWESOME. The walls echo when you speak in there. I had so much junk piled up out there, it was ridiculous. And now it is all piled up by the side of the road, waiting on the poor trash men to come on Tuesday morning. Well, some of it is.

I have been absolutely amazed at the number of trash divers that have gone through my stuff. Now, I don't care that people take things from my trash; I don't want it anymore, and if it's something you can use, go for it. There were a couple of old sewing machines, framed pictures, books, vacuum cleaner, fireplace tools, old monitors and printers, all sorts of things that maybe someone can use. However, I take offense at the ones who TORE OPEN almost every black trash bag (over a dozen) to inspect the contents, then tossed them back. I had to go through and rebag or tie up the GAPING HOLES so that the trash men can pick them up without everything spewing on to the ground. And speaking of spewing on to the ground, thanks so much to the weirdos who took ALL of the storage containers they could find, leaving the clothing in said storage containers strewn all over the grass. Seriously, I saw this particular group of three people, who are apparently HARDCORE trash divers; they showed up in a truck pulling a large trailer which already was holding various unrelated items like boxes and a chair. Apparently they just drive around town looking for junk, maybe for their own garage sales or something?? So weird. At least they showed up in broad daylight. We had another group come up tonight while I was watching the end of the Emmys, and they were out there for 15 minutes, picking through the remains. Unfortunately for them, all the good (?) stuff is gone by now. Unfortunately for me, it looks like they may have been re-tearing the bags, so tomorrow I get to rebag. AGAIN.

I'm back :)

2009-09-14T19:42:41Z

We had a fantastic cruise last week! I'm going to try to do a write up of our trip for anyone interested, but just thought I'd say HI to everyone today, hope all of you had a great week. Here's my son in Key West standing in front of our beautiful ship:

Busy busy

2009-09-04T20:37:11Z

Sorry to have sort of dropped away for the last few weeks. I know I've got lots of great fic to catch up on from everyone. I wish I had more stories to post myself, but time has not been my friend lately. I won't have the chance to get another spawn fic in before the cut off next week, but I'm sure Cam, Lee, and Rose will come back to play sometime in the future. I also never got to introduce Blake Winchester, Sam and Sarah's daughter, so there's still plenty to look forward to.

I really want to write more Chloe/Dean, I've got some plots in my head, but I'm having a hard time with it. I think it's because I've given up Smallville, and it's easier for me to write when I've watched the characters on TV recently (their voices come out stronger, somehow.) I am not watching Smallville this season because I'm just disgusted with it and want it to die in its well-deserved Friday timeslot.

My son and I start our vacation tomorrow - we'll be driving down to Fort Lauderdale for a night's stay in a hotel, then boarding our beautiful cruise ship, Carnival Freedom, on Sunday for a six night mother-son vacation extravaganza. :) :) We are both very excited! We're hoping for relatively good weather; we lucked out with Tropical Storm Erika fading into a not-as-serious mass of rain, but some of our excursions (swimming with the stingrays!) still depend on calm weather, so wish us luck.

I hope everyone has a wonderful Labor day weekend, as well as a wonderful week.

Health Care Reform

2009-08-27T13:20:50Z

I don't post too much in the way of politically-involved discussion, although I follow what goes on in this country (and elsewhere) very closely. However, this article by the CEO of Whole Foods is so exactly correct, in my opinion, on the subject of health care reform that I wanted to provide the link. I think a lot of people in this country have the vague idea of what should be done about health care, but don't know how to express it because they're not familiar enough with the business or the terms. This article specifically addresses those things that could be changed for the better without building a trillion dollar boondoggle. I wish a senator or representative would propose a bill that addressed these issues as a counter to what's going on now.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970204251404574342170072865070.html

20 Days Until Vacation!!!

2009-08-18T01:24:47Z

My son and I are counting down to our vacation; 20 days until we sail away on a Carnival cruise heading to Key West, Jamaica, and Grand Cayman. Technically, it's 19 days away, because I just booked a hotel stay for the night before the cruise. We will have a solid four hour drive to the port, at which point we would have to pay $90 to park the car in the port garage for the length of the cruise. However, for $99, we can stay the night at a hotel and it includes free parking for the car while we cruise, which I think is fabulous! Plus, if something happens, like a blown tire or car accident (crosses fingers against) it gives us an extra day to deal with it and still make it to the cruise.

I've also got our trip insurance squared away. This is the first time I've bought trip insurance for a cruise (or any vacation.) But something has been nagging in the back of my mind to do it, and I felt like if I didn't, I would regret it. Sometimes you have to listen to the little voices. At any rate, the insurance was very inexpensive, only $40 for the both of us, and it covers cancellation, trip interruption, plus reasonable amounts towards medical expenses and emergency evacuation, so I'm pleased.

I've also booked our shore excusions. In Key West, we're just going to walk around and shop. We're going to be sure to get my son "Chocolate Covered Key Lime Pie on a Stick", LOL. He loves Key Lime pie (I only tolerate it.) In Jamaica, we're doing a ski chair lift up to the top of a mountain where there's an inifinity pool with a waterslide, as well as a bobsled (roller coasterish) ride, a restaurant, and a little shopping. In Grand Cayman, we will be visiting the Stingray Sandbar and swimming with and feeding the stingrays; also, will be visiting the Turtle Farm and Hell. My son is quite tickled that we're "going to Hell." LOL.

If anyone ever has any questions about cruising, I'd be happy to answer them. This will be my sixth cruise, plus I've done extensive research on many others, and spend a lot of time on cruising forums. It's one of my favorite subjects! :) :)

Meme

2009-08-05T02:00:46Z

From

tehzo : Reply to this meme by yelling "WORDS" and I will give you five words that remind me of you. Then post them in your lj and explain what they mean to you.

The words she gave me are vacation, Chloe Sullivan, writing, food, and Supernatural:

Vacation: I suppose anyone that reads my lj on a regular basis knows I try to travel on any vacation I have, whether to theme parks, mountains, a hotel stay, a cruise, anything. Beyond loving to travel, I have a big reason for this. I'm a never-married, single mom, and it's always been just the two of us, me and my son (with extended family around of course.) He'll be 13 in January, and just a few short years from now, he'll have to get a job, and/or go to college, and then start developing a career, and hopefully a family of his own. And while I'm sure we'll still vacation together, there's going to come a time where the ship will have sailed, so to speak, on the amount of time we can spend with each other making memories. I don't want to look back and remember, well we had a fancy house and a fancy car. I want to be able to remember the trip we took to Jamaica, the cruise we took through the Southern Caribbean, his face on his first upside down roller coaster, crawling next to him up the side of a mountain next to a waterfall, etc. I also want him to have the chance to interact with people who look different, speak differently, grow up differently, so that he'll have easier interactions as an adult, and will appreciate other people and cultures, as well as appreciating what he has. So while my house really needs a new coat of paint, and the furniture gets well-worn before being replaced, I'd rather spend the money on a cruise or seeing our National Parks while I've got him, and I'll renovate the house after he moves out, and it's just me and the cats. :)

Chloe Sullivan: Usually when I become not just a casual fan of a series, but truly engrossed in it, it's not because of the setting, or action, or mystery - it's because of the characters. Those sweet, heart-fluttering moments where you can see the characters love for each other, or the stomach-flipping moments where a character is so full of angst you want to cry. Occasionally, there will be one character that stands out as the person I would be (or would want to be like) if I lived in that world. Chloe Sullivan is that character for me in Smallville. She's intelligent, strong-minded, loyal, and surrounded by hot superheroes. *grins* She has so much potential because of her versatility; you can fit her into an action scene as either the damsel in distress facing unspeakable terror, or the brave woman who tracks down the key piece of information that saves someone else's life. She can be funny and fun-loving, and also deep and thoughtful, even with an edge of danger. She's beautiful not just because of her looks, but because there is a realness to her that keeps her from being a Mary Sue. And because of all of this, she could easily be paired with any strong male character and hold her own, go toe-to-toe with them, love and fight with them and for them just as passionately as they do. All of this is why she should have been paired as the "Lois" with Clark, why she should now get paired with the strong (in my mind) Oliver, why she just did not work with Jimmy, who was sweet but too weak for her, and why she would be absolutely fabulous with Dean Winchester. I love writing from her point of view, I love exploring her mind and all the possible places it could go. How the Smallville writers have managed to waste such a glowing and unlimited trove of potential is mind-boggling.

Writing: I have so much fun taking characters that I adore and building worlds for them. I wish I were better at original characters, I have always wanted to write a book, not to make a ton of money off of (though that would be nice) but just to be able to pick up a copy and say "I did this, I created this." I like angst with happy(ish) endings, I like being on the edge of tears when I write something and seeing from comments that it brought someone else to that place. (Though I don't love not being able to sleep at night, worried that it won't. I'm not sure fanfic should affect me so much, lol.) I don't have much of a process, exactly. Most of my ideas have come to me while driving to or from work (an hour drive each way, so plenty of time to think.) My first story, Chloe's Hunt, was remarkably exciting to write, it was the first time I'd written anything of substance, and people were reading it and liking it! LOL. Following on from there has been a joy, and recent shorter pieces with lots of angst have been very satisfying.

Food: Well, I enjoy food. Heh. That does not mean I eat constantly - I really don't snack much. I'm not big on eating a lot of candy or chips or popcorn or anything like that. I enjoy nice meals with medium rare steaks, or buttermilk pancakes, or lobster tails with drawn butter, or low country boils with peel and eat shrimp, sausage, corn, potatoes, and crablegs. A beautiful bowl of shrimp and grits with bacon, mushrooms, and chives. A fluffy omelet with oozing cheeze and warmed strawberry jelly on the side. And don't even get me started on all the fabulous dining on cruise ships, and I'm not talking about buffets, but in the lovely dining rooms. Escargot, shrimp cocktail, prime rib, and that's just what my son orders, hee. Warm Chocolate Melting Cake, people. It's all the reason you need to take a Carnival cruise. :) :)

Supernatural: How much do I adore Supernatural? Not even five hours ago, I walked into my cousin's house where my son had spent the day. They were watching the episode "Tall Tales", the first one with the Trickster. I've seen that ep probably fifty times (no lie) but I sat down and had to finish watching it with them. It's not even in the top ten of my favorite eps, but doesn't matter. I will sit and watch Sam and Dean just breathing and count it as a day well spent, lol. I have been immersed in shows before, truly immersed to the point of dreaming about being IN it most nights - Buffy/Angel, Veronica Mars, Farscape, even Smallville in earlier years. I was especially gripped FOR YEARS by the Buffy/Angel world. They all pale in comparison to my love of Supernatural. I wrote a tiny smattering of fanfic about Willow from Buffy that is stored on a hard drive on a shelf. I PAID for an lj page where I could actually post long fic based in the world of SPN and let other people read it; it's insane. Not every episode is great, but even the worst ones have redeeming qualities. I like the premise, I like the plots, I like the monsters, I like the humor, I ADORE THE BROTHERS, I like the writing, I like the supporting characters, I ADORE THE BROTHERS, lol. Remember what I said above about being engrossed in the characters? Sam and Dean are the ultimate in sweet and funny and angst. I am a SamandDean!girl, meaning I love both brothers no matter what, never one over the other. While there have been missteps here and there, overall I think Kripke & Co have done a marvelous job with the characters and plots. I can't wait for Season Five.

Don't Want to Wake Up Part 2

2009-08-04T04:37:33Z

Title: Don’t Want to Wake Up Part 2
Author: ellanorasedai

Characters: Chloe, Dean, Sam, Bobby, plus guests

Rating: PG

Disclaimer: None of them are mine.

Author’s Notes: This is the second part of Don’t Want to Wake Up, which was the sequel to Just Go to Sleep. I strongly suggest you read those first, in order to understand what’s going on with Chloe.

Additional Notes: I felt that DWtWU was left on too open a note to be a standalone, so I am making this a Part 2 instead of giving it its own title. I think this does a good job of finishing the series; however, there are still some open questions, in case I feel like revisiting this storyline in the future.

The ceiling in her room is very rustic; long, wooden planks with random, swirling patterns of wood grain running from one wall to the other.

Four years. Her jaw hurts from how hard she’s been gritting her teeth, and she makes herself relax. She can handle this. Four years. She knew it had been a long time, knew that more than just memories had been taken away from her. A significant portion of her life, wasted in that austere, white place.

Her hand smoothes over the soft blanket covering her; it’s dyed a dark hue of green. Nothing in her room is white.

Clark expects her to go home, she knows. She remembers enough about Clark to know he cares a lot about her, that he truly thinks she would be better off at home. But he doesn’t understand, how could he, that home means something different to her now than it must have in the past. Bobby said she could stay.

The blanket is pure cashmere, soft and light and warm. She remembers when Bobby handed it to her along with other linens for her room; it was the same day he told her for the first time she could stay as long as she wanted.

If she goes with Clark, chances are she’ll remember more as she comes into contact with the places and people from her past. She knows that’s supposed to be a good thing, but she doesn’t think so. She’s not stupid, Bobby says she’s smart, she knows her mind works differently than it used to. Gaining memories doesn’t mean she would go back to being the same person. She’s different now, but if she went back with Clark and Oliver, they would expect her to be the same, to try to be the same.

Bobby and Dean and Sam like her the way she is. Bobby gave her the blanket, and said she could keep it.

Her eyes track one of the larger swirls in the wood of the ceiling to where it meets with a tiny crack in the paint of the wall below. The crack zigzags its way down to the door frame where a tiny sliver of light makes a perfectly straight line down to the floor. Light isn’t the only thing slipping into the room; voices are as well, just the tones, not strong enough for words. If she lifts the blanket over her head, even the tone is silenced, but she knew that was cowardly the moment she did it, and made herself lower the blanket back to her shoulders.

It seems like she just woke up a few minutes ago, but she realizes she got so caught up in the wood swirls and blanket, she can’t be sure. Sighing at her own bad habits, she forces herself up and off the mattress, drawing her fingers through her hair to make sure it’s lying flat. A wandering mind is no excuse for bed-head.

Slipping through the doorway and stealing down the stairs as quietly as possible, she pauses before entering the kitchen where the voices are coming from.

“What about medical attention?” She hears Clark ask the question, and smiles. It’s so good to hear his voice; she hopes he will still visit her sometimes.

“She has regular checkups with a doctor in the city; the doc says she’s fine, physically.” Bobby sounds as calm as ever; she’s only heard him get really worked up two or three times, and always when the boys have gotten themselves into some kind of trouble. She knows how much he cares about Dean and Sam.

“But mentally?” She remembers being around Oliver, and trusting him, but other than that, she’s not coming up with a lot of memories of him. She shies away from thinking about a reason why.

“According to the doctor, the drugs repressed her brain activity for a long, long time. Long enough that parts of her brain have sort of forgotten how they used to work. Even when she stopped taking the pills, she had to hide it, so her mind became sort of…conditioned…to suppress pretty much everything. You say she was smart before, well she still is; it just comes out in different ways.”

“I’m different,” she says out loud, then colors when she realizes she is still standing on the bottom step, and rounds the corner into the kitchen to find everyone looking at her. “I’m different,” she repeats, “and I won’t ever be the same as I was.”

“Chloe, how are you feeling?” Bobby asks.

“I feel fine,” she answers. “I’m sorry for what happened earlier. I know I’ve been avoiding…things. I’ll try to do better.”

“You don’t have to apologize, Chloe. You’re fine just as you are.” Sam smiles at her, and she has to smile back. Sam is always kind to her, has been ever since he came off of the drugs himself. Thinking about it now, she wonders for the first time if it is because he feels guilty that he wasn’t affected as badly as she.

Pushing the thought aside to contemplate later, she walks to where Clark is standing, and reaches out to take one of his hands in both of hers. “You’re still my best friend, Clark, and you always will be. But I know I’m different now. And I don’t want to go with you and be different there. Can you understand?”

She feels him squeeze her hands as he smiles at her, but his eyes are still a little sad. “I just want what’s best for you, Chloe. I should have found you sooner, should have protected you better.”

“Don’t.” Her response comes out too fast, and a little louder than necessary, causing everyone else in the room to take a step towards her, probably expecting another outburst. She squeezes her eyes shut and forces herself to take a deep breath, before focusing on Clark once again. “I know…I know there are things about…what happened that I’m not remembering. Reasons why…” she stutters to a halt, feeling a little breathless.

“It’s okay, Chloe, take your time,” Clark says softly.

“I can’t…I’m not ready,” she whispers, looking down at their hands, watching as he disentangles them, only to fold her into a hug.

“When you are,” he replies, and this, she remembers this. Clark, her best friend, and his support.

“Thank you,” she replies, relieved.

-----------------------------------------------

She watches, waving, as they drive away, leaving her behind but promising to stay in close touch. She knows Oliver left contact numbers with Bobby; she saw Bobby pocket a business card. The two of them also had some sort of discussion in the hall while everyone else walked outside; she thought she’d caught the word expenses in Oliver’s low-pitched voice before being ushered out the door. She studies the older man’s face in the growing twilight; he seems content, and she allows herself to settle into the same feeling.

Sam is leaning against the porch railing, watching the final rays of light fade against the treetops. She’s going to be sure to do something extra nice for him tomorrow, maybe fix his favorite pancakes for breakfast. She’s thankful he’s recovered so well, and she’s not going to let him feel guilty about it, ever.

The porch step she’s sitting on rattles as Dean drops down beside her, catching her attention. He grins at her before leaning his elbows on the step behind them and stretching out, his left leg resting easily against her right one. He’s holding a beer bottle in his right hand, and she watches the drops of condensation slide down the bottle as he lifts it occasionally to his lips. He is the reason she’s safe and content; he’s the one who saved her, and brought her home.

Chloe leans her head against his shoulder as her eyes catch the swirls of wood on the step beneath Dean’s feet.

END

Youtube hates me

2009-08-03T21:22:17Z

Someone help me, I'm begging. Every so often, Youtube stops working for me. I'll be watching a vid or a clip that's a few minutes long, but the little red line will only go part way, and of course, it freezes when the marker reaches the end of the red line. Sometimes I can click a few seconds ahead and it will restart, but once again, it stops a few seconds in. When I got my new laptop, this stopped, and I've had Youtube work perfectly since, but it just started again last week. It's so frustrating! I can't watch any of the Comic Con clips or any vids for any significant length of time.

What can I do to fix this? Am I missing some sort of update that helps Youtube to play?

Writer's Block: Bite Me

2009-07-27T14:02:13Z

From Dr. Polidori's Lord Ruthven to Stephenie Meyer's Edward Cullen, the annals of vampire lore are filled with attractive, charming bloodsuckers. Which one would you most want to be bitten by?

View 513 Answers

Jean-Claude from the Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter series. He is not only the hottest vampire, but probably the hottest written fictional character I have ever read about. ****Disclaimer - while I very much like a lot of the Anita Blake novels, a couple of them are terrible, so don't take this as a fullblown recommendation.

Runner up - Angel from BTVS/Angel the Series

Writer's Block: Investigations of a Female Nature

2009-07-21T04:13:19Z

Who is your favorite lady detective from movies, books, or TV?

View 506 Answers

Hmm - so many good ones to choose from! The lovely ladies from Charlie's Angels (I'm a Kelly Garrett girl), the classic Nancy Drew (man, I loved those books!), Dana Scully (ok, she was FBI, but she investigated things!), Brenda Lee Johnson from The Closer (love her!), Detective Beckett from Castle (she's definitely growing on me). And of course, Laura Holt from Remington Steele, and DeeDee McCall from Hunter were also strong lady detective characters.

In the end, I think I have to go with two:

Veronica Mars - I loved this show and I loved this character.

Jessica Fletcher - while not an "official" detective, I think she qualifies. Also, Angela Lansbury is a goddess. :)

Wisconsin Dells

2009-07-19T03:35:25Z

Has anyone been to Wisconsin Dells? I'm interested in any and all information on the hotels, waterparks, other attractions, etc. All information and advice is welcome!

Randomness

2009-07-17T00:35:28Z

1. Sorry it's been a couple weeks since I've posted fic. I've got some ideas floating around, but nothing coming out of my fingers. :( More soon, I hope.

2. My cat is all better! The vet had to keep him overnight Friday and forcefeed him to "jumpstart" him wanting to eat again, and it worked.

3. My son is home from brass camp. He did a great job at his concerts, and I'm relieved to have him back where he belongs. :)

4. Saw the space shuttle in the air from the grocery store parking lot yesterday just after it lifted off. I live 2 hours north of Kennedy Space Center, so whenever the shuttle goes to the space station, it crosses south to north through the sky here and we can get a glimpse of it. I used to want to be an astronaut when I was a kid, and the space program is near and dear to my heart.

5. I took Smallville off my DVR settings. If somebody somewhere keeps track of what's popular by what's recorded, I don't want Smallville getting any credit.

6. Leverage last night was awesome. :)

7. Looking forward to Torchwood next week. :)

8. Love the show :Seconds From Disaster, but I should know better than to watch it at night. Kinda creepy.

9. Haven't conversed with many of my flisters lately, hope you are all doing well. :)

ellanorasedai @ 2009-07-10T14:47:00

2009-07-10T19:27:15Z

From dapatty :

Leave me a comment and I will give you a letter. Then, write 12 things that you love starting with that letter. Post the list in your journal. Give out letters to those who comment in return.

The letter "T" in no particular order:

1. Travel - Cruises, islands, national parks, mountains - there's nothing I love better than visiting other places.
2. Theme Parks - I love roller coasters, waterparks, and theme park shopping.
3. Tequila - Raspberry Margaritas. 'Nough said.
4. Tomatos - more specifically, sundried tomatoes. I love them in dressings, pasta dishes, cream cheese, pretty much anything.
5. Trombone - I love listening to my son play his trombone, and I was so glad he chose that instrument to play in the school band.
6. Therapeutic Massage - We have a great spa at a resort about an hour away, and they give the BEST massages. If I could afford it, I would visit every month.
7. Television - Supernatural, Leverage, Castle, The Closer, Burn Notice, Torchwood, HIMYM, and many more.
8. The Wheel of Time - a fantasy series of books by Robert Jordan, who sadly died last year, but the remainder of his books are coming out over the next two years, beginning this November.
9. Top Quality Bed Linens - Silk sheets, people. SILK.
10. Tenders Sub - the Chicken Tenders sub sandwich at my Publix grocery store: hot fried chicken tenders, provolone cheese, lettuce, tomato, mayo, mustard, black olives, oil & vinegar, salt & pepper, on fresh baked rolls. YUM.
11. The Food Network - I'm hooked on the Challenge shows.
12. Taking my son to restaurants - it's always been just me and my son since he was born, so we out more than most people. We love going out to eat, doesn't matter if it's Sonny's BBQ, Chili's, Red Lobster, or somewhere fancy, we always have a good time.

My poor cat...

2009-07-09T00:23:56Z

My cat Spike is sick. He spent Monday hiding in the linen closet corner, with no eating, drinking, or bathroom breaks, and the same for Monday night. Tuesday morning I called the vet to make an appointment and they had me bring him on in and drop him off. Turns out he was running a 105 fever, which is high for cats. They gave him an anti inflammatory shot to bring it down, started him on antibiotics and sent out bloodwork, then let me bring him home last night. Today, he's not much better, has only had a swallow or two of water, and again, no bathroom breaks. The bloodwork came back, and all of his organs, including kidneys and bladder, are fine and there's no sign of infection or diabetes, so they think it is some kind of virus. If he is the same tomorrow, I will have to take him back in so they can get some fluids in him, check his fever, and hope he can fight off whatever is going on.

The vet suggested today that I try a little tuna in water to entice him, but when I brought the bowl over to him and he smelled it, he kind of whimpered, tossed his head around, and left the spot to get away from it. It was extremely depressing, he would normally go crazy over a lick of tuna.

The worst thing is that my son is off at music camp and won't be back until Saturday, and I live in fear of him coming home to a house that is minus one cat and having to explain it to him. It would be devastating to him. When he was six, we went to the Humane Society to look for a cat, and he felt something pat his head. He turned around to find the paw of this beautiful little Maine coon kitten reaching out from the cage above, and he picked him out right then and there.

Spike is now six years old himself, and 19 pounds, with huge paws and the most gorgeous striped fur. We have a second, younger cat, Dru, who we also love, but Spike is so special to us, and I hate to see him feeling so bad. We almost lost him once before, to stones in his bladder two years ago (it was touch and go for a short while) and I do not want to go through that again.

Don't Want to Wake Up Part 1

2009-07-02T13:24:07Z

Title: Don’t Want to Wake Up Part 1
Author: ellanorasedai

Characters: Chloe, Dean, Sam, Bobby, plus guests

Rating: PG

Disclaimer: None of them are mine.

Author’s Notes: This is the sequel to Just Go to Sleep. I strongly suggest you read that first, in order to understand what’s going on with Chloe.

She’s sitting at the table, peeling potatoes. It’s something she enjoys doing, because she can spend lots of time at it, and it’s the same motion over and over again; the word for it is repetitious, according to Bobby. At least, that’s what she overheard him tell Dean, that they should give her repetitious tasks because they keep her happy, and she’s good at them. She was proud to hear him say that about her, happy that she could be so useful still.

At first, she had helped take care of Sam, sitting beside him, helping him walk, talking to him as he came out of the drug-induced haze, which had taken a few weeks, according to Dean. She herself doesn’t try to measure the days, weeks, months; just thinking about it upsets her, though she can’t explain why, so she just ignores the passing of time, content to see the bright sunshine of the morning and the white glow of the moon at night. Regardless, Sam is all better now because he didn’t have the drugs in his system for as long as she did, so he doesn’t need her help anymore.

She had been scared when Dean first brought them here, and had clasped Sam’s arm tightly when they got out of the car, looking up at the grizzled, older man who was frowning down at them from his porch. She realized later that he was frowning out of concern, not anger, but it had been hard to tell at first. The first night, she slept on the couch in the living room, but the next day, Bobby told Dean to make up a bed for her in an upstairs room. The mattress on the floor is big, bigger than the bed she had slept on in the long room, and the blankets are soft, and she still loves to sleep on it every night, in a room by herself with a window she can see out of.

She makes her bed every day, spreading the wrinkles out of the blankets and setting the pillow just right. After breakfast, she used to sit with Sam, but now she finds chores to do around the house, folding laundry, organizing bookshelves, anything that needs doing. Bobby only has to show her how something works once, and it usually triggers a memory of having done it before, like setting a washing machine or running a vacuum. By now, there’s nothing at all unfamiliar about the house she lives in or how to take care of it, and she’s content.

She loves to go for walks outside each day, rain or shine. It’s always a relief to be free outside, after her constant stay behind walls. The only days she doesn’t go for a walk are those when she can hear thunder or see lightning; Bobby made her promise to stay in during storms. She likes it best when the sunshine pours through the trees; she has a hazy memory of being in a golden-colored field, and she can spend hours thinking about it while she walks along the property line, staring at the sun-dappled ground beneath her feet.

Dean and Sam are on their way, which is why she’s getting the potatoes ready. Bobby says that they visit a lot more than they used to, and she’s pretty sure he likes it. She likes it too, likes seeing that they are still safe and sound. She knows all about their hunting, and has even helped Bobby with research, reading in his books to find information on different creatures. She remembers everything she reads, which surprised Bobby at first. He thought that her ability to remember was permanently damaged by the drugs. Now he just thinks that she went too long without being able to remember, and that she has to want to remember. She doesn’t worry about what she can or can’t remember. She’s happy with the way things are.

-------------------------------------------

The pot roast is in the oven and she’s outside walking when they pull up in the black car. She runs toward the car, smiling, and Sam gets out of the passenger seat to catch her up in a hug and smile back.

“How are you, Chloe?” he asks.

“I’m fine, how are you? Were you hurt this time?” She always asks the same thing first, because she knows where the first aid kit is, and sometimes the boys need help cleaning up their injuries. So far, it’s just been scratches, and she was quick to hand Bobby the gauze and medicine he needed while fixing them up.

“Nope, not a bit. No thanks to Dean, though. He fainted when we saw the ghost,” Sam answers, in a confiding tone, but his voice is loud enough to carry to the other side of the car, where she looks to see if Dean is okay.

He’s getting out of the car and glaring at Sam. “Don’t tell her that! I didn’t faint, Chloe, I just tripped over a stupid headstone. Samantha here thought it was funny.”

“Actually, I thought it was hilarious,” Sam replies, still grinning, and she can’t help but grin back. “He totally fell on his ass in the mud.”

“I’ll wash your clothes for you,” she offers sincerely to Dean, as he rounds the car to engulf her in another hug.

“That’s okay, we stopped at a laundromat on the way here,” he replies, “but I’m glad someone cares about me.”

Sam shakes his head and laughs, poking fun at Dean some more, and she helps them carry their bags into the house.

-----------------------------------------------------

The next day, she’s sitting on the porch steps, watching Dean fuss under the hood of his car when a large, shiny-black SUV pulls up the drive. Bobby and Sam step out of the house and they all watch as the vehicle comes to a stop and both front doors open. Her eyes are caught on the dark-haired man climbing out of the passenger side, and suddenly her entire body feels like it wants to burst out of its skin. She’s on her feet and running before she realizes, as waves of memories come crashing down, she and Clark at school together, in a car together, in his barn together, walking through that same golden field together. He sweeps her up into his arms, holding her tightly against him as she cries, and she doesn’t know how she could have ever forgotten Clark.

“Chloe, thank God we found you! Why didn’t you come home?” Clark asks against her hair, and she untangles herself from him, using her shirtsleeve to wipe her face. She looks back towards Bobby, Dean, and Sam, who are looking concerned, and in Dean’s case, maybe a little angry. Clark follows her gaze. “Have they been keeping you here?”

She smiles at him. “No, Clark, they’ve taken care of me. I live here now. I like it here.”

Clark looks at her in confusion, but it’s Bobby who speaks next. “Chloe, you want to introduce your friends?”

“This is Clark,” she says proudly, pulling on his hand to bring him closer to the group. “He was my best friend, before.” And she’s too happy to have Clark here to frown or stumble over the reference to the time before as she usually does.

“Clark Kent,” Clark puts in, but he’s eyeing them suspiciously, and she laughs.

“It’s okay, Clark, really,” she says, trying to convince him.

“And the other fellow?” Bobby asks.

She turns to look at the other man who has now walked around to their side of the vehicle. He’s tall, blonde, and familiar, and she gets flashes of green leather and a bow and arrow. She frowns, because she knows him, she’s sure of it, but his name isn’t surfacing.

He’s looking at her with concern now, as is Clark, and she drops his hand and steps back a little.

“Chloe, it’s Oliver,” Clark says his tone confused.

The pieces click into place, and her face lights up. “Oliver Queen, I remember!” She wraps her arms around his shoulders, and he hugs her back, but when she steps away, his eyes are searching hers worriedly.

“Chloe, are you alright?” he asks.

She smiles. “Of course I am; it’s so good to see you. Oh, this is Bobby, and Dean, and Sam.” She gestures to each one in turn, then turns back to ask, “Would you like something to drink?”

“Would we like…Chloe, what’s going on? Why didn’t you come home when you got free?” Clark’s voice is a little distraught, a little angry, and her smile fades as her heart starts to beat a little faster.

“I…uh…” she stutters to a stop as worry begins to overtake her, but then Bobby’s hand is on her shoulder, reassuring, and pulling her back gently while Dean and Sam step up beside her.

“What do you know about where she was?” Dean demands.

“You’re the one who should be answering questions, like why are you holding her here?” Clark returns angrily, before looking back at her. “Come on, Chloe, we can take you home.”

He stretches out his hand, but she just stares at it as anxiety takes hold. She doesn’t want to leave, she likes it here, with Bobby, and the boys, and her bed, and her window. She doesn’t want to let go of what she has here, doesn’t want to trade it for the unknown, for something she can’t remember, for something she doesn’t want to remember. I don’t want to leave, she thinks. Don’t want to leave, don’t want to leave, don’t want to leave, don’t want to leave…

“Chloe, it’s okay, you don’t have to leave. You can stay as long as you want. Come on, Chloe, look at me. I promise; you can stay.” The words penetrate through the building haze, as does the gentle shaking as Bobby’s fingers flex on her shoulders, and she stares up into his face, a little dazed.

“There you are,” he continues, giving her a smile. “You’re fine, Chloe, you’re safe, and you don’t have to leave.”

She nods a little, finding comfort in his words, as her surroundings come back into focus. She turns a little to see everyone looking at her with varying levels of concern. Dean and Sam have seen this happen before, although it’s been awhile, and she’s a little embarrassed at letting it happen again. Clark and Oliver, though, are staring at her in confusion and worry.

“Chloe, what’s going on?” Clark asks.

Dean swings back towards him to bite off a response, but Bobby answers first. “Chloe is still recuperating from her ordeal,” he replies sternly. “We don’t know all of what went on there, but apparently, you knew she was in trouble. Maybe you’d like to fill in the details?”

She watches as Clark and Oliver look at each other, then Oliver steps forward. “I own a company that specializes in what you might call covert operations. The Black Creek Facility was found to be operating under the radar of the government, and everyone held there had been taken off the street against their will. When we went in to dismantle it, we found Chloe’s file, but it indicated she had already escaped. We’ve been tracking her ever since, but with no luck until a report came in that she was seen here in the city, with you, Mr. Singer.”

“But you knew Chloe before she was taken?” Sam asks, and she starts to feel another swirl of nerves.

Oliver nods. “Yes, she worked for me, and she’s been best friends with Clark for years.”

“Why do you think she was kept there?”

Oliver pauses for a second before answering. “We don’t know for sure,” he replies, and she can tell that he’s not being entirely truthful, but she doesn’t care. She’s ready to end this conversation; think about something else.

“How long has she been missing?” Dean asks, and her head snaps up, her mouth opens, but she’s not quick enough to forestall the words.

“It’s been just over four years.”

She can’t breathe.

The panic that’s been simmering for the past few minutes has pushed full-blown through her body, closing off her throat. Four years. She didn’t want to know this, didn’t want to think about it. Almost four years spent in that stark, white place, not talking, not thinking, not living. Almost four years of being trapped inside her own mind, of being walled off from everything she knew. A heaviness crushes down on her as she recalls all those moments she had tried to forget; shuffling back and forth between rooms, over and over and over, for days and days. Sleeping and eating and sleeping again; never deviating, never changing from the schedule, never being free. An overwhelming wave of terror crashes over her, and she thrashes against it with mind and body.

Hands are grabbing her arms, and she twists and turns, trying to get away. She’s suddenly aware that the noise she can hear is herself, screaming, and she focuses on that, trying to keep herself from drifting away again, wanting to fight the drugs that she’s sure are going to be introduced into her system any second now to carry her away again.

“I can’t breathe! I can’t breathe! I can’t breathe!” Over and over, as loud as she’s ever screamed before. As loud as she was screaming in her head every day of those four years without realizing it.

She’s abruptly aware that her body is shaking, teeth chattering over the words, that someone else is making her shake. It’s violent enough to get her attention for just a moment, long enough to hear the words someone else is shouting at her.

“You’re breathing, Chloe, you’re all right! Open your eyes and look at me! Open your eyes!”

She gasps in a breath, and her eyes fly open to see Dean is the one shaking her, shouting, and her scream changes to a sob. Then she’s weeping into his shoulder, taking shuddering breaths and trying to get the words out. “All by myself, for so long, for so long, couldn’t fight, couldn’t talk, for so long.”

“I know, baby, I know. I’ve got you, you’re okay, you’re safe.” Dean’s deep voice is soothing, and his hands are cradling her to his body protectively. The terror finally begins to fade away, and she sags into his arms, exhausted, breath still stuttering.

She’s aware of being lifted, then a swirl of movement is visible from beneath her half-lidded eyes. She’s too drowsy to question it, just focuses on the feelings of warmth and safety that emanate from Dean’s chest and arms. It isn’t until he’s laying her in her bed that she realizes he carried her upstairs, and she grabs for his hand as he tucks her warmest, softest blanket around her body.

“Sit with me, please? Just for a minute, please?” She’s almost too ashamed to ask it, but he just smiles at her and sits down cross-legged on the mattress, holding her hand and stroking it with his thumb.

“Go to sleep, Chloe. You’re safe,” he replies, and she takes a deep breath and closes her eyes obediently, letting the exhaustion drag her down into blackness.

Read Part 2 here...

Okay, fine, make room on the meme bandwagon

2009-06-24T03:29:15Z

When you see this, post five unpopular fandom opinions in your journal.

I liked Buffy. I liked Spike. I did not like Buffy/Spike. I do not think the pairing made any sense for either character.

While I would prefer a Chlois/Chlark ending to Smallville, I could live with Chlollie fine. At this point, I’m just tired of Chloe never getting the superhero, and always seeming to have to settle.

I love Richard Dean Anderson, but any and all appearances by him on Stargate after season 6 were pretty much phoned in. Also, as far as I’m concerned, Jack retired from the Air Force, married Samantha, and they live together near whatever base she’s assigned to.

On House: I do not like Foreman. I do not like Thirteen. I do not like Taub. I do not like Cameron. I did not like Kutner. Can it just be House, Wilson, Cuddy, and Chase, please? And can Chase please switch to a new shampoo, I don’t think his current brand is working anymore.

To me, if television shows and novels are works of fiction, then fanfic (a work of fiction based off another work of fiction, generally) is doubly so. That is to say, I view it as being far outside of canon, and far, far outside of reality. For that reason, I can’t get worked up over non-canon pairings, whether slash, nonslash, or Wincest. Usually even if I'm not a fan of the pairing, I can see why someone else would be attracted to exploring it. I also don’t think writing or reading something in fanfiction makes you a proponent of it in real life. Do I want Wincest in the actual SPN show? Absolutely NOT, I love the show, and the brother relationship exactly the way it is portrayed. But it doesn’t bother me to see or read explorations or twisting of relationships that are completely made up, and completely separate from the show. Chloe/Dean is never going to happen on the show, but I still write it. Sam/Dean is never going to happen, but I don't care if someone writes about it. Not all of it is my cup of tea, of course, and that's fine. What I care about is if the plot is interesting to me, does it twist up my insides with emotion, does it make me want to never stop reading? If it doesn’t, then I won’t read it. If it does, then I will.

Meme

2009-06-20T00:36:50Z

Snagged from the multitude, and since I asked someone a question in response to it, I figured it was only fair to post it as well...

Online journals are little filters that we each see every one else's lives through, the parts others choose to share with us. That said, we all think we are close, but really we seldom know *a lot* about each other. So I want you to ask me something you think you should know about me. Something that should be obvious, but you have no idea about. Ask away.

Then post this in your LJ and find out what people don't know about you...

The Adventures of Cam and Lee Part 2

2009-06-17T01:08:54Z

Title: Chloe’s Family: The Adventures of Cam and Lee Part 2

Author: ellanorasedai

Characters: Chloe/Dean; Cam, Lee, and Rose Winchester

Rating: G

Disclaimer: Cam, Lee, and Rose are mine. Everyone else belongs to someone else.

Icon by the lovely and talented tehzo

Summary: A typical day outside for Cam and Lee, age twelve.

Part 1 – If I’ve Told You Once, I’ve Told You a Thousand Times

“Kneel, or you will die!”

“I will never kneel to you!”

“Then you will suffer the consequences. Take that!”

A heated battle began, red light saber clashing against green, with loud cracks of noise as they beat against each other. For a few moments, green was gaining ground over red, but an unexpected sight broke Cam’s concentration, and he was unable to block the weapon that slammed against his side.

“Ow, man!”

“Oh, sorry, sorry,” Lee responded, pulling his light saber back immediately. “Why’d you stop?”

“Look,” Cam pointed over Lee’s shoulder, and he turned to see a blonde haired woman emerging from the tree line to saunter towards them. Both boys watched her progress forward, prepared to run back to the house, just waiting long enough to confirm…

The woman slammed into an invisible wall as she hit the front edge of the devil’s trap she had just walked into, one of the many made of iron and buried beneath the ground ringing the property.

Both boys grinned at each other. “Demon,” Cam said, nodding.

“A dumb one,” Lee answered. “What demon deliberately visits the house where Dad lives?”

“Yeah,” Cam replied. “Ready?” he asked, lifting his light saber again.

“Yep,” Lee said, swinging his own weapon toward his brother, only to be stopped by a yell.

“Hey!” the blonde demon cried out. “A little help here?”

The brothers looked at her in surprise. “Why would we help you? You’re a demon,” Cam said.

“Your parents know me, I helped them out once.” Both boys gave her withering looks.

“Mom and Dad would never need your help,” Cam scoffed. “Winchesters hunt demons, they don’t make friends with them.”

“Look, I’m a good demon, okay?”

“Whatever, Glenda,” Lee replied, and Cam snickered.

“It’s Ruby,” she informed them tightly, but her look of annoyance turned to confusion when both boys fell over themselves, laughing.

“Like the slippers? Just tap your heels together three times, maybe you’ll get out of the trap,” Cam said.

“I should never have come here,” Ruby complained, throwing up her arms in exasperation.

“Yeah, well, if you only had a brain,” Lee sing-songed.

“Would you just go get your mother?” Ruby spoke through gritted teeth.

“No way, Mom’s asleep and Dad said if we wake her up before he gets home, we’re grounded,” Cam began.

“And we’re not gettin’ grounded for a dumb demon,” Lee cut in.

“So just chill out ‘til Dad gets back. Shouldn’t be more than an hour,” Cam finished.

Ruby opened her mouth to protest, but was cut off by a raindrop splashing her cheek. More soon followed, and she watched in astonishment as the boys looked up at the dark cloud moving in overhead, then shrugged at each other and turned towards the house.

“Hey, you can’t leave me out here in the rain!” Ruby yelled furiously at their departing backs.

“Don’t worry, we’ll tell Dad you’re here soon as he gets home,” Cam called over his shoulder.

Lee turned his head and grinned at her. “Hope you don’t melt, Glenda,” he said, then both boys broke into a run as the rain began to fall harder.

Ruby stood in the downpour, glaring as the brothers disappeared from sight. “I hate Winchesters,” she growled.

Roadside Assistance

2009-06-11T12:28:17Z

Title: Roadside Assistance

Interlude in the Hunt/Heart ‘verse
Author: ellanorasedai

Pairing: Chloe/Dean

Rating: PG-13

Disclaimer: Chloe = AlMiles/PS3. Dean = Kripke. Me = sad.

Summary: Chloe balks at learning a new skill. This is set in the Hunt/Heart ‘verse, sometime after the end of Chloe’s Heart, but long before the spawn. It’s standalone, though, you don’t have to have read the verse to understand this.

Author’s Notes: This is written for the lovely and talented tehzo who made the most gorgeous spawn icons for me, andin return, requested happy!Chlean. Thanks sweetie! Hope you agree with me that fondly-bickering!Chlean equals happy!Chlean. :)

“Come on, it’s not hard, I’ll teach you how.”

“No, thank you.”

“Chloe, I don’t want you to end up stranded somewhere, alone.”

“I’ll call Triple-A.”

“You have an account with Triple-A?”

“No, but I can get one,” Chloe said, then rolled her eyes when Dean shot her an eyebrow. “Fine, I’ll call Bobby.”

“What? Why would you call Bobby before you call me?”

“Because you’d give me a lecture on not knowing how to change my own tire. Bobby loves me, he’d take care of me without the lecture.”

“Bobby’s getting soft in his old age,” Dean grumbled.

“Dare you to tell him that,” Chloe responded tartly.

“What if your cell phone battery is dead and you can’t call either of us?”

“I may not know how to change a tire, but I never forget to plug in my cell phone.”

“Fine. What if it’s broken?”

“I’ll get a replacement phone. Part of my contract with the cell phone company.”

Dean huffed loudly. “Chloe…”

“Whatever. If my phone is broken, I’ll yell for Clark.”

“Clark?”

“Sure, he’d hear me. He’d probably fix the tire without the lecture, too. And, he’d be faster at it.”

“He would not!”

“Superspeed, Dean. It’s not your fault he’s faster.”

“That’s cheating! That doesn’t count.”

“Of course it counts. If you both start at the same time, he’d finish first.”

“Bet that’s true about a lot of things.”

“Gross, Dean.”

“What if you blow a tire in the middle of nowhere, your phone doesn’t work, and you yell for Clark but he doesn’t answer because a ton of kryptonite rocks have been dropped on top of him?”

“That’s not very nice.”

“I know,” Dean replied cheerfully. “So, what would you do?”

Chloe gave a long-suffering sigh. “I guess first I would have to loosen the lug nuts,” she began, lifting the cross wrench and fitting it over each one, leaning her weight on the wrench to force them free. “Then I would take the jack,” she continued, a little out of breath, sliding the jack out of Dean’s hand, “and place it under the frame like this.” She slid the jack to the appropriate spot underneath the Jeep’s frame. “Then I would have to raise it like this,” and she slipped the lever into the jack and began ratcheting it up until the vehicle was lifted enough. “Next, I suppose I would remove the old tire, and replace it with the new one.” Chloe removed the already loosened lug nuts and carefully lifted the old tire down, before hefting the new one into place. A wayward hand entered her line of vision, helping to hold the weight of the tire, and she smacked it away as soon as her own hand was free. “Stop that. Now where was I? Oh yes, put the lug nuts back on,” and she twisted them on by hand before using the wrench to tighten them partway. “Then lower the car and finish tightening them.” She pumped the jack to lower the Jeep back to the ground, then used the cross wrench to retighten the lug nuts. “Voila,” she said, flourishing her arms and looking at Dean smugly, whose eyes were narrowed and glaring at her.

“Some reason you couldn’t just tell me you already knew how to change a tire?”

“This was more fun.”

“Uh-huh. Who taught you?”

“My dad showed me how when I got my first car. He didn’t want me to end up stranded somewhere, alone,” she parroted Dean’s words, smirking. “Of course, that was before I knew about Clark’s abilities, and how I could just yell for him…”

“No more yelling for Clark!” Dean interrupted loudly.

Chloe laughed. “So did I pass auto shop for today?”

“Sure, you get a B+”

“What?” Chloe replied, outraged. “Why not an A+?”

“Your technique was a little rusty,” Dean said, grinning as he replaced the tools in the back of the Jeep.

“It was not! I have perfect technique.”

“Relax. I offer extra credit assignments. Shouldn’t take more than three, maybe four to get you that A+.”

“I’m pretty sure that kind of extra credit isn’t allowed in school.”

“It is in my class,” Dean leered.

“Fine. But four is too many; I already have a B+. One assignment should be enough for an A.”

“Two for an A+.”

“For two, I better get an A+ and a gold star.”

“Right, I’ll just raid Bobby’s sticker drawer. How about a Certificate of Participation instead?”

“Participation? I do more than ‘participate,’ mister!”

“Okay. How about a Certificate of Achievement?”

“How about you shut up and let me get started?”

“Works for me. Don’t forget that perfect technique.”