Sam, Dean, and Maria Winchester are parked outside a gas station. Dean in the driver's seat, Sam in the front passenger seat, and Maria sprawled out in the backseat, listening to Dean speak and interjecting 'mhmms' at his words.
"Alright, I figure we'd hit Tucumcari by lunch, then head south, hit Bisbee by midnight," he says, then changes course when he notices Sam is not responding. "Sam wears women's underwear."
"I've been listenin', I'm just busy," Sam says, checking his email on his phone.
"Busy doin' what?" Maria asks, leaning forward in the back seat to look over Sam's shoulder.
"Reading emails," Sam replies, not looking up at either of his siblings. Dean gets out of the Impala and starts to fill up the gas tank.
"Emails from who?" Maria asks curiously, leaning up further to get a better look at the phone in Sam's hands.
"From my friends at Stanford," Sam tells her, moving his phone out of Maria's sight. Maria is taken aback and gives him a strange look, but it's Dean who replies.
"You're kidding," Dean says, leaning in the window of the car to talk to Sam. "You still keep in touch with your college buddies?"
"Why not?" Sam asks, but it's more of a statement than a question.
"Well, what exactly do you tell 'em?" Dean asks curiously. "You know, about where you've been, what you've been doin'?"
"I tell 'em I'm on a road trip with my big brother and sister. I tell 'em I needed some time off after Jess."
"Oh, so you lie to 'em," Maria states.
"No," Sam says to her. "I just don't tell 'em…everything."
"Yeah, that's called lying," Maria says with a smirk, but Dean finishes.
"I mean, hey, man, I get it. Telling the truth is far worse."
"So, what am I supposed to do, just cut everybody out of my life?" Sam asks, looking from Dean to Maria. They both shrug. "You're serious?"
"Look, it sucks, but in a job like this, you can't get close to people, period," Maria tells him, putting her hand on his shoulder. "I learned that one the hard way."
"You're kind of anti-social, both of you," Sam tells them in amazement. "You know that?"
"Yeah, whatever," Dean says, finishing filling up the Impala and getting back in the front seat. Maria shoves Sam's shoulder as he goes back to reading his emails.
"God…" Sam says quietly.
"What?" Maria and Dean chorus.
"In this email from this girl, Rebecca Warren, one of those friends of mine—"
"Is she hot?" Dean interjects. Sam ignores him, but Maria smacks him in the back of the head.
"I went to school with her, and her brother, Zack," Sam continues. "She says Zack's been charged with murder. He's been arrested for killing his girlfriend. Rebecca says he didn't do it, but it sounds like the cops have a pretty good case."
"Dude, what kind of people are you hangin' out with?" Dean asks as Maria gives Sam a concerned look.
"No, man, I know Zack. He's no killer."
"Well, maybe you know Zack as well as he knows you," Maria reasons.
"They're in St. Louis. We're going," Sam decides.
"Look," Dean begins with a small chuckle of disbelief, "sorry 'bout your buddy, okay? But this does not sound like our kind of problem."
"It is our problem," Sam argues. "They're my friends."
"St. Louis is four hundred miles behind us, Sam," Dean counters. Sam and Dean exchange a look while Maria sighs. She knows exactly how this is going to go: Dean will be firm, Sam will use the puppy eyes, and Dean will give in, just like he always does. As she predicted, a few seconds later they are pulling out of the gas station and on their way to St. Louis.
Sam knocks on the front door of his friend's house. Dean and Maria stand slightly behind on either side of him. Rebecca opens the door and sees the Winchesters standing there.
"Oh my god, Sam!" she cries excitedly.
"Well, if it isn't little Becky," Sam says with a smile.
"You know what you can do with that little Becky crap," she replies with a smile. She and Sam share a hug.
"I got your email."
"I didn't think that you would come here," Rebecca says. Dean steps forward, followed by Maria.
"Dean. Older brother," he says, shaking Rebecca's hand.
"Hi," she replies uncertainly.
"Hi," Dean says with a charming smile. Maria moves in front of Dean, shooting him a look before extending her hand to Rebecca.
"Hi, I'm Maria. Middle sister," she says, smiling. Rebecca reaches out for Maria's hand more readily, returning her warm smile.
"We're here to help," Sam says. "Whatever we can do."
"Come in," Rebecca says, leading them inside. Maria walks in behind Rebecca, followed by Sam, and finally Dean, who shuts the door behind them.
"Nice place," Dean comments as the three Winchesters look around.
"It's my parents'," Rebecca replies. "I was just crashing here for the long weekend when everything happened. I decided to take the semester off. I'm gonna stay until Zack's free."
"Where are your folks?" Sam asks.
"They live in Paris for half the year, so they're on their way home now for the trial," answers Rebecca as they enter the kitchen. "Do you three want a beer or something?"
"Hey—" Dean begins, but Maria interrupts him, putting her hand on his shoulder.
"No, thanks. So, tell us what happened."
"Well, um, Zack came home, and he found Emily tied to a chair. And she was beaten up and bloody, and she wasn't breathing," Rebecca tells them as she begins to cry. "So, he called 911, and the police—they showed up, and they arrested him. But, the thing is, the only way that Zack could've killed Emily is if he was in two places at the same time. The police—they have a video. It's from the security tape from across the street. And it shows Zack coming home at 10:30. Now, Emily was killed just after that, but I swear, he was here with me, having a few beers until at least after midnight."
"You know, maybe we could see the crime scene. Zack's house," Sam says.
"We could," Dean and Maria say in unison.
"Why?" Rebecca asks. "I mean, what could you do?"
"Well, me, not much," Sam says soothingly. "But Dean and Maria are cops."
"Detectives, actually," Maria laughs.
"Really?" Rebecca asks. Dean and Maria both nod. "Where?"
"Bisbee, Arizona," Dean replies easily. "But we're off-duty now."
"You guys, it's so nice to offer, but I just—I don't know," Rebecca says uneasily.
"Bec, look, I know Zack didn't do this," Sam tells her consolingly. "Now, we have to find a way to prove that he's innocent."
"Okay. I'm gonna go get the keys," Rebecca decides, walking down the hallway, leaving Sam, Dean, and Maria alone in the kitchen.
"Oh, yeah, Sammy," Maria hisses, "you're a real straight shooter with your friends."
"Look, Zack and Becky need our help," Sam defends himself.
"I just don't think this is our kind of problem," Dean argues.
"Two places at once? We've looked into less," Sam counters. Dean and Maria look at each other, then look back at Sam, both of them clearly at a loss.