(2) Bring Me Home (T. Stark)

Chapter Twenty-One

Sam and Dean get back two weeks after Serenity's hearing test. Dean is two weeks late on a promise he made. And it's not his fault. Being trapped in a weird angel thing had him stuck. He couldn't do anything about it. He wasn't himself. He had lost all his memories of his life. Of all things monster related. He couldn't get out, he couldn't get back for that appointment, and he has yet to see her. He and Sam got in late, too late to wake her and so he planned on talking to her first thing in the morning. He sweeps the curtain aside in the bedroom to see Spencer at her car as she sets the folded pram into the trunk. He's going to miss his chance and he needs to apologise.

............

By the time Dean gets his boots on and heads outside, Spencer's already got the kids in the car. He jogs down the steps of the porch and towards her.

"Spence" he calls out, she glances at him and then sighs going back to securing the twins in the car.

"Dean, now's not a good time, I have somewhere to be and I am already running late"

"I'll be quick" he assures her, she leans out of the car and turns to him. "I am so sorry" He tells her, Spencer nods a little. "I...Promise I would have been there if I could have been but something came up...."

"I get it" she assures him and then turns her attention back to the twins.

"It was crazy..." Dean offers, she hums a little.

"I have to go" she closes the door and turns to him.

"Spence" he tries.

"Look, I do get it" she stops him. "Something came up, it happens....stop fussing" she shakes her head and moves to climb into her car, Dean watches her go. He frowns a little.

...........

Dean nudges the house door shut behind him before he meanders into the kitchen where Bobby is cooking his lunch. Bobby glances at him and then back at the cooker.

"What's wrong with your face?" Bobby asks.

"What's up with Spencer?" Dean asks Bobby who shoots him a look.

"You mean other than the fact her husband is missing and everyone else seems to think he's dead" Bobby answers. "Oh and she has three children to take care of...."

"Well...yeah" Dean whispers.

"Just this doctor's appointment" Bobby offers, Dean frowns at him.

"What doctor's appointment? The hearing one? I thought that was two weeks ago"

"It was, this is a follow up, Serenity needs another test 'cause she failed the first one" Dean stares at him. "She didn't tell you?" Bobby asks.

"No, she didn't" Dean answers. "Serenity has hearing issues?"

"Not sure" Bobby offers. "Spencer seems to think so...she's been pretty worked up about it"

"Why didn't she say anything?" Dean asks.

"Probably didn't want you to feel bad about missing the first" Bobby takes the pan from the cooker. "She's just.....lost at the minute, with everything going on...." Dean nods, because that is understandable. Everything that has been thrown at her, everything that's happened to her the last few years. She can't catch a break.

...........

Spencer holds onto Trinity's hand as she makes her way through the shelves of a book store. Ryder sleeps against her chest in a baby wrap whilst Serenity takes the pram in front of Spencer. Ryder prefers to be close at the minute. And Spencer needs to hold him, at least one of them, to keep herself calm. Plus Ryder doesn't like being in the bottom cradle of the pram. The appointment didn't go the way she had hoped it would. She wanted them to tell her that Serenity is fine and she is just being paranoid, that the last two weeks of worrying have been for nothing. But Serenity failed her second test. Confirming that there is something wrong with her hearing.

"Uncle Happy" Trinity states and runs to Happy who smiles down at her as he approaches them.

"Are you following me?" Spencers asks as he picks up Trinity.

"No" Happy answers, she raises an eyebrow and crosses her arms over her chest. "Yes" Happy corrects. "Look....Tony would hate if anything happened to you whilst he is gone...I was just keeping an eye on you...." he admits softly. She sighs because she can't stay mad at him, Happy never does anything with malice and she knows he is just trying to look out for her whilst Tony is away. He notes the book on hearing loss in babies in her hand. "It didn't go well then?" he asks, she sighs and looks at the book.

"No" she answers. "Serenity is definitely deaf" She motions with the book. "I just thought...." she shrugs a little. "To...I don't know, get a head start..." she sets the book back on the shelf and looks down at Serenity in the pram, her hand coming up to touch Ryder's back. Serenity is sleeping now. But her heart just aches for her daughter. All this time, she's been in silence this whole time. Spencer can't even imagine what that would be like.

"Hey" Happy whispers moving closer to her. "It's okay..." she lets out a breath to try and control her tears. "She'll be okay. She has you....and she will have Tony"

"Yeah, but when he comes back I have to tell him I broke his daughter" Her voice breaks at the end.

"It's not your fault" Happy assures her. She shakes her head in disagreement, she worries her lip and looks up at him.

"Before I found out I was pregnant...." She clears her throat. "There was a fight, and there were...gut punches...hard ones....so maybe I did do this to her....maybe this is my fault" Happy shakes his head.

"No" He argues. "No, that's not...." he gives her a sad smile, but she knows he can't deny that it might have been that.

"I will never forgive myself for this" Spencer admits sadly. "For doing this to her" Careful of Trinity in his arms, and Ryder against her chest, Happy hugs Spencer.

"You don't know that that is the reason this happened" Happy whispers to her. "It could have been anything..." he strokes her hair. "Okay?" she nods a little and he pulls back. "This is not your fault..." She reaches up and brushes away her tears from her cheek. "So what happens now?" he asks. "With Serenity?" Spencer takes a breath and nods a little.

"She'll need to go back to the hospital so they can take an ear impression for her aids, then another appointment for the fitting....probably years of speech and language therapy....I should maybe get a book on sign language" she looks around the shelves. "I need to learn...." Her voice breaks and she closes her eyes, internally scolding herself for being this weak. And around her children. Happy touches her arm and gives her a sad smile when she opens her eyes.

"Coffee?" he asks her. "Maybe some cake?" he looks at Trinity who smiles back at him.

"Yeah" Spencer whispers. "Yeah, that sounds nice"

...........

Tony sits on his cot type bed, he looks exhausted, skinny, pale. His hair is greasy and unkept. His beard the same. He spins his wedding ring around his finger. This, they at least let him keep. His cave-mate. His fellow prisoner. Yinsen. Watches as Tony stares down at his ring. They haven't really spoken about personal things, more on their escape plan. Because of course Tony has one. He's Tony Stark and he has a wife and kids at home waiting for him to come back. The twins are young enough that this will all be just some hazy memory for them. Trinity will likely understand that something isn't right and that will stick in her memory for years to come. And Spencer....he doesn't want to think about how hard she'll be taking this. With everything they've been through the last few years. This is precisely what she didn't need. He just wants the world to leave her alone. To let her be happy.