Hello to everyone out there in fanfiction land! I have not quite finished my other story but before I knew it a new one popped right into my noggin. So, I thought I better get it out there to see if anyone feels it would be worth pursuing. Let me know what you think if you are so inclined, comments are a very good motivation to continue. Of course I don't own anything associated with SPN, just having a little fun. Thanks to any and all who take a look. :)

The Winchester brothers sit in their usual surroundings, a cheap motel room on the edge of another small town. Dean is busy eating some sort of fast food concoction they picked up and Sam sits at the table, laptop open, eyes scanning the screen looking for their next gig. The boys had just finished a tough job south of here, both brothers wearing the usual cuts and bruises associated with their particular line of work. As per usual, the older of the two took the worst of it. A nasty cut stands out on Dean's hairline and he is still a bit shaky and slow moving but also, as per usual, he won't admit that it is anything he can't handle. He's always fine.

Sam doesn't really want to start looking for yet another foe to defeat. He feels they both need, more so his brother, to rest, recuperate and just chill for a day or two. But, ever since his older brother returned from his trip down under, he hardly takes even a fleeting moment to relax. Even though he has just been toe to toe with yet another pissed off member of the undead, Sam knows his brother is anxious to find another creepy crawly to keep his mind on hunting and nothing else. The younger of the two wants to tell him that even super duper killing machine Dean needs to rest, to sleep, to let his wounds heal. But Sam also knows that his brother's sleep has been elusive since his return and that it's only physical wounds that have a chance to be healed right now. He knows any suggestion to rest would only be met by the usual bout of sarcasm and stubbornness. It won't be until Dean decides that he can't continue, or until his body makes the decision for him, that he will stop.

Sam continues his gaze at his computer and audibly makes a noise when he stumbles across something kinda weird, and that gets Dean's attention immediately. The older brother stands, makes his way to where his brother sits, and hovers just behind him. Sam glances at him over his shoulder and doesn't like what he sees. Dean looks beat. Not only in the just got my ass kicked by the undead kind of beat but like a man coming to the end of his rope, on the verge of utter collapse. He hates when he looks like that. Soon it will happen, soon Dean will falter and Sam will need to pick him up. He doesn't mind of course but he wishes it wouldn't take utter and complete mental and physical fatigue for his brother to let his guard down.

By the look on Dean's face however, Sam knows he didn't come over to him for a heart to heart conversation but rather to find out what has sparked the younger brother's interest. It's another chance for distraction from the secrets he is keeping, another reason not to face what has happened to him. Another reason to avoid Sam's questions and concern about his well being. The nut will crack though, it is only a matter of time.

"Got somethin' Sammy? Or did you finally discover the awesomeness that is Busty Asian Beauties?" Dean had seen his brother look at him as he came over and didn't like the mother hen type stare he had given him. Give it a rest, I am fine. Just a flesh wound. Well, maybe fine isn't the right word but I am dealing. Dean knows he looks like shit. He knows that his brother knows he hasn't been sleeping much, that he has been drinking too much and that he has been upping his usual level of bravado and kick ass attitude to hide the pain he is in. The facade is wearing a little thin, even to Dean. He just needs to keep things together. He just needs to keep working, keep on the hunt, keep saving people and then he will be fine again. After he saves every single person out there that is being harassed by something unearthly or inhuman. Then he will finally be fine. Nothing irrational about that right?

Sam rolls his eyes at his brother and sighs. "Yup, you caught me Dean. I finally gave in, wanted to see what the big deal was with this porn obsession of yours." Pause. "Please man, give me a break, I like to live in a little place I like to call reality and when I want to see a naked woman well, I like her to be in the same room with me. Jerk." Why oh why Sam? Why would you feed the fire? You know he is just babbling, trying to avoid any kind of real talking, and you once again have fallen for it. Damn, he is good.

"Okay, okay... stop being such an emotional bitch Sammy. I guess your statement just means that you haven't been in the mood to see naked chicks for the last what, 4 years that we have been on the road together? Okay, truce. Just, keep the eye rolling to a minimum dude, you never know, they may end up stuck like that." Dean concludes with a snicker and looks back to Sam's computer. "So if it's not naked women that has you groaning over here then what the hell is it?"

Back at it we go. Sam moves his chair so Dean can squeeze in beside him to have a look. The headline on the page reads 'Town of Paradise Lives Up To It's Name. Locals Say It's The Happiest Place in the Country'. "C'mon Sam, are we seriously going to start to check out places that are too happy now? Cuz, that would pretty much be anywhere that we ain't, right?" Dean sees another look shoot across at him from his brother and hears a mumbled response about being some kind of smart ass and to keep reading. Dean's eyes go back to the page and as he continues the hairs on the back of his neck start to prickle. Okay, so maybe Paradise might not be all it is cracked up to be after all. "So, let's get this straight. A new bar? That's the key to paradise on earth? Hmm, now that I think about it that doesn't seem that unbelievable. Okay, just stop with the looks Sam, your eyes are gonna bore a hole right through me. Anyways, this bar opens up in this sleepy town and all of a sudden shazam, all the locals swear that they can leave their troubles behind. Inside it? For real? It sounds weird alright but I don't know man, maybe it's just a town entirely made up of crackpots."

"Well it's the only interesting thing I have been able to find considering you can't stand still. Since you have me scouring these damned articles constantly in search of the next case." Sam lets out a pent up sigh. "But yeah, you could be right, you probably are. Just a crackpot infested country town that is excited that they finally have a watering hole to go to on a Friday night. I mean if you drink enough you probably do leave your troubles behind, at least for a while, right?" There is no reason why Sam can't unload some of his worries about Dean using the ammunition at his disposal. And right now it is in the form of this newspaper article. He knows that his brother can read between the lines of what he is saying and the tightness he sees in his brother's jaw tells him that he has. Sam won't press on though. "I'm thinking maybe we should just let this one slide and wait until something more up our alley comes along. Plus, this place is a good days drive away. I'd rather get some sleep than go chasing a case when there probably isn't one."

The older sibling can see right through the younger one's ploy. Dean resists the urge to make some kind of bitchy remark to Sam's obvious attempt to get him to defend his increasing need to unwind with several drinks. It's under control. He'll just pretend he didn't hear it and hope it just fades away in the distance. Dean doesn't really want to go on a wild goose chase either but something about this town doesn't feel right. Maybe it's his lack of sleep and exhaustion that is causing it but one thing he is absolutely sure of is that he does not want to stay here and wait for the next weirdish thing to make an appearance. "On the other hand Sammy, no reason why we can't check it out and see what this so called paradise has got going on. Hell, maybe we can leave our sordid pasts behind." Dean can't help it, he has to say something to Sam about his previous dig about drinking. "Maybe it's nothing but I wouldn't mind checking it out, and you obviously know me so well Sammy, cuz it'll give me a chance to go undercover, have a beer or maybe several at the place, to scope it out and see what I can see. Congratulations bro, you have just found our next case, our next destination, our next roadtrip! So, pack up your stuff and let's hit the highway dude."

"What? No way Dean. We just came off a job, we are tired and both need to recover. I know you are hurting and in far worse shape than me, that cut on your head looks painful. We can go in the morning but I am bagged and need to get some sleep."

"Sammy, believe me, I know how you get if you don't catch your beauty sleep, you turn all crabby and whiny and sound like a little girl and turn into just a general kind of wuss. And let me tell ya dude, cuz I am in the know, it is annoying beyond belief. I mean really, can you even hear yourself when you haven't had your full eight hours? Not to mention that when you don't get the proper amount of zee's, I'm sorry to say it Sam, but you really do look like shit. I, on the other hand, need very little and can manage to maintain my charm and charisma and, as many a lady can attest, my looks never seem to suffer. I'm all for you getting your required shut eye Sammy but the thing is, right now I am wide awake, wired and raring to go. So I'll drive, you sleep."

It is a never ending battle and Sam never seems to come out as the victor. Stubborn, arrogant, smart ass Dean always has to have his way. It's pointless to even start up some kind of retort, some sort of logical rebuttal as to why this is not a good idea, it will just be a waste of breath. As his brother stares at him, Sam knows that Dean needs nothing more than to get back out there, to look ahead to something that will keep his memories at bay, and Sam once again relents. "Yeah, yeah, okay Dean. I just need a minute okay? To wash up and take a leak and have a good stretch before I am cramped up in that motel on wheels of yours again." As he heads for a bathroom Sam thinks he hears Dean mutter a soft Thanks Sammy at his retreating back.

Get ready Paradise, the boys are coming to town.

TBC?...