Brief Intro: Here we go again. The sequel to Thicker Than Water. I'm going to try to write it so that you don't really need to read thicker than water, but it will be much easier to follow this one if you do.

This story picks up right where we left off and will take place during a few of episodes from Season 1, namely Hook Man, Bugs and Home as Isabel travels the country with her two cousins. I'm just warning you that I haven't decided on her fate just yet.

John will also be making an appearance later on, I've decided.

Enjoy, AT

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Belleville, Illinois

Sam finished packing all his belongings into his duffel bag and zipped it up, placing it next to the front door of his cousin's house. He looked around the place for a moment and part of him wished that he didn't have to hit the road again. He'd liked spending the last couple of weeks in Isabel's house, and so had Dean. It had been comfortable, it had been clean, it had been normal. Well, relatively normal, if you didn't count the demon that had kidnapped and almost killed his cousin.

Even though Dean and Sam had been hesitant about going away with Isabel, watching her now as she packed a suitcase with a smile on her face made them think that maybe this road trip wasn't such a bad idea after all. Maybe a change of scenery would do her good after everything she'd gone through.

Her doctors had, to both Dean's and Sam's surprise, agreed that it would not be a bad idea for Isabel to get out of town for a while and reconnect with her estranged cousins. Maybe a change would help to give her a fresh start. Considering what had happened in the last couple of weeks, Dr Gilman, her therapist, was pleasantly surprised that Isabel felt comfortable and safe around her two male relations, reaching out to them instead of pushing them away, and after years of being all alone and the possibility she may shy away from all male contact, he strongly encouraged her developing relationship with Sam and Dean.

Sam watched her from her bedroom door as she piled an impossible mass of clothes into a suitcase.

"How long do you think we're going away for? " He asked with a smile.

"I don't know" She said looking at the pile of clothes in front of her in serious contemplation "You think I'm packing too much?" She asked as if the idea had never occurred to her.

"Not if we're away for like…two years"

"It's just that I don't know what I'll feel like wearing until I the time comes. What if one day I feel like wearing something I haven't brought along with me?"

He shook his head and chuckled "God forbid" He said dramatically and turned to walk away. He headed for the lounge room where Dean had finished packing his own belongings and hunting gear into a couple of duffel bags.

"We're set to go" He said finally. He grabbed a small box and passed it to Sam "You hang on to that"

It was Isabel's medication, together with clear plain instructions from her doctor and therapist, necessary for her treatment and any emergency 'incident' she may have.

Although Dr Gilman was happy about the 'Road Trip', as Isabel called it, he had firmly warned Dean and Sam that their cousin's struggles with recent traumatic events were far from over. He also warned them that at some point in the near future, her memories could return in their entirety and with them a massive tidal wave of emotions she may not be mentally ready to deal with. Not only memories and emotions to do with her own kidnapping, torture and close brush with death, but guilt and depression associated with the death of her boyfriend Jack and old college friend Leslie, at the hand of the very same demon that had shattered her own life.

The instructions were clear, don't leave her alone for extended periods of time, know where she was at all times, make sure she takes her medication and if at any time she wanted to come back or they felt she needed to, bring her back immediately. Together with her usual medication, consisting mainly of sleeping pills, antidepressants and painkillers, Dr Gilman had give Sam a small tranquilizer gun, with a few small ampoules of a powerful muscle relaxant and sedative, only to be used in the case of an extreme emergency. Sam wasn't too convinced about it, feeling his cousin was not some animal that needed to be knocked out with a tranquilizer gun. Dean on the other hand had looked at the device in appreciation.

"So when she starts nagging and whining we can just use one of these to shut her up?" He'd asked Sam, who had not dignified his brother's question with an answer.

A whole week after her hospital discharge had already made a huge improvement on Isabel's state of mind, and Sam hoped that this trip would only improve things. She still had nightmares. Some worse than others. But she would always wake up the next morning and shrug them off, to get on with her day.

Her bruises had faded completely, with only a few smalls scars here and there where she'd been cut. Her dislocated shoulder and bruised rib had healed, only occasionally causing her discomfort, and she was glad to finally be off the painkillers. They were all glad, as it had been an initial worry that she might become addicted. Her foot was bandaged but she could put a little weight on it. She couldn't run yet, like she often did in the mornings, and Sam hoped that she would now put on a couple of pounds. She'd always been small, but after spending a week in the hospital, where she'd lost about five pounds, he worried she'd become a little too thin.

She'd quit her job at the real estate office. She wasn't worried about the money. When her parents had died, they'd left a hefty sum from their life insurance and their entire estate became hers six years ago on her eighteenth birthday. With all the money and the sale of their family house, she had bought the small cottage she lived in now, a car and put herself through college. The rest, which happened to be more than half, she put in the bank. Never touched it. Just sat there gathering interest for the last six years. Money had never been an issue, and she decided that just like Sam, after a life changing event, she would walk away from her life, take stock, and then start anew.

"Are you ready yet? " Dean called out. Sam and Dean had been patiently waiting for Isabel for the last half and hour.

"What's the hurry?" Isabel replied from her bedroom, giving it a once over before joining her cousins in the hallway "It's not like we're on a schedule. We don't even know where we're going"

"Yeah, about that" Dean started. He was all for spontaneity but they hadn't even decided which direction to head off into "Should we have a destination in mind?"

"Let's go south" She said then quickly reconsidered "No wait…let's go north"

"Right" Dean said slowly "North"

"Yeah, let's just head north and see where the road takes us"

Dean raised his eyebrows at Sam.

"North it is" Sam said, grabbing Isabel's suitcase and throwing his duffel bag over his shoulder. He walked out the door with Dean behind him.

Isabel grabbed her backpack and jacket and looked around the house. Everything was turned off and locked up. She'd emptied the fridge and cleaned out the pantry. She didn't know how long they'd be gone but figured it was probably better to be safe than sorry. She locked the front door and walked over to the Impala. Sam had already loaded their luggage into the trunk and Dean had started the engine. She jumped into the back seat, poking her head in between her cousins sitting at the front and smiled at them like a little kid.

"Alright" Dean said pulling out of the driveway "Let's go"

Her excitement lasted all of two hours, and eventually her enthusiasm waned to the point where she could no longer contain herself from complaining.

It was close to eight o'clock at night when Isabel pointed out that she was hungry, and tired, and bored. They'd been driving for six hours non stop and the road was now shrouded in darkness and there was no scenery to look at anymore.

"Can we stop somewhere? Please?" She whined.

"Again?" Dean asked. He and Sam were used to long car rides. Six hours for them was nothing. Isabel, however, was going out of her mind.

"I need to pee" She said.

Dean glanced at her briefly through the rear view mirror "No, you don't. You just went an hour ago"

"We've been driving all day" She whined.

"We've only been on the road for six hours"

"Only?" She asked "Dean, I'm sooooo bored I'm actually considering asking Sam to thumb wrestle with me"

Sam turned around in his seat and faced her with an eager smile on his face "You wanna?" He held out his hand to her.

She looked at him blankly for a second "No!"

Sam's smile faded and he turned back in his seat dejectedly "How about I spy?" He tried again.

"No thanks, I'm twenty four" She said.

"Why not?" Sam said.

"Because I'm bored, not five"

"But it's fun!"

"I don't know what your definition of fun is Sam, but clearly it's different from mine"

"You're the one who wanted to go on this road trip" Sam countered.

"I didn't think we'd be spending so much time in the car"

Sam turned to look at her.

"What exactly do you think a road trip is?" He asked.

"If you two don't shut up, this trip is over" Dean mockingly warned the bickering couple "I swear I will turn this car right around"

"It's not like we're going to be late to anywhere" She said, appealing to Dean who was the driver and ultimately the decision maker "Let's just stop at the next town and spend the night"

"Fine" Dean said, not really wanting to but willing if it meant it would shut her up.

They finally arrived at a small farming town and pulled into a questionable motel. Sam got out and got them a room and the three of them slowly walked to the door.

"Seriously? Here?" She asked, looking around at the dilapidated building in barely disguised disgust.

"What's wrong with it?" Dean asked. It wasn't the Sheraton, but it wasn't that bad either. He'd slept in far worse places.

"It looks like something out of a teen horror movie. Was the man at the reception called Norman Bates?" She said as Dean opened the door to the room and walked in with Sam.

"It was a woman, for your information" Sam said "Although, her name was actually Norma"

She stood by the doorway and poked her head in, taking in the shabby and basically furnished room.

"It's like my prom night all over again" She said.

Sam and Dean turned to her questioningly.

"Come again? " Dean said.

"Wow" She raised her eyebrows at Dean's question "Déjà vu"

Sam looked at her speechless and Dean blinked at her preferring to dismiss that comment "Well sweetheart, it's either here or the car" Dean said.

She faked surprise "OK, now it's getting freaky"

"Oh, that's classy" Dean said shaking his head as he set his bag on one of the queen beds.

"Isabel shut your mouth and get in here" Sam said. She smirked at him and he beat her before she had a chance to respond "Not one more word, I mean it"

She heard Dean laugh quietly and she walked into the room closing the door behind her. They settled in silence, deciding not to unpack as they would leave the very next morning. There was a diner at the end of the motel, run by the same owners, and they decided to go grab a bite to eat before turning in for the night. Once they'd finished their meal, Sam asked the waitress to bring over a glass of water. He placed three tablets on a napkin and slid it over to Isabel's end of the table, together with the glass of water.

She looked down at them glumly. As relieved as she was to be off the painkillers, the sleeping pills now frightened her. But she hadn't skipped one yet, and the thought of what might happen if she did, made her err on the side of caution. She was fairly certain that the only reason her dreams hadn't escalated into full blown psychotic episodes resulting in the vividly detailed recollection of what had happened was because the sleeping pills put her in a state of virtual catatonia, suppressing most of her dreams. She reached for them silently and quickly put them in her mouth, gulping half the glass of water down with them.

Once back in their room Dean switched on the TV, flicking through the channels in search of something half decent. Isabel changed into her pyjamas and slippers, and settled herself on top of one of the beds, her head at the foot. She rolled onto her stomach and rested her head on her arms as she pulled out a book from her bag and read silently. Sam sat next to her on the bed and rolled out their road map, tracking their trip so far and trying to decide where they should head next.

Half and hour later Sam and Dean looked up as a soft thud caught their attention. Isabel had fallen asleep, as she often quickly did after taking her sleeping pills, and her book had slid off her hands. Dean reached for the remote and turned down the volume on the TV.

"I'll get it" Sam said, getting up from the bed and walking around to Isabel.

He gently pulled her up and turned her body around, lifting the cover off the bed and settling her head on pillow. He took off her slippers and pulled her feet under the covers, careful with her bandaged ankle. She was sleeping like the dead and didn't even stir as Sam moved her. He pulled the covers around her and turned the bedside lamp off.

"They really do knock her out quickly don't they?" Dean said, referring to her medication, as he picked up her book and placed it back in her bag "I might turn in too"

"OK" Sam said, stripping to his boxer shorts and t-shirt "I'll share with her"

Dean got ready for bed too, lying there as Sam flipped through channels on a mute TV. He knew his brother still had trouble sleeping. He'd never seen Sam sleep through the whole night and wondered if he too perhaps might benefit from some of Isabel's sleeping tablets.