Closing in

A/N: Okay, so here we go again. Boy, did I regret putting the plot of this story close to the area of the events in BUABS. I had a hard time figure out which Twin Lakes the boys were in, there are dozens of them. After single them down to being either Twin Lakes, CO or Twin Lakes, WI (which could both be pretty stupid choices for all I know), I decided to go for the Twin Lakes, Colorado. I have no idea if that was a good choice, but that was my best guess, and I did find a route 71 going north from a town a few hours from T W (Limon). Besides I like Colorado (never been there, but I think I would have loved it there:) If that's a totaly wrong choice (yeah I know that means that Dean, and of course demon/Sam/Meg had to drive for almost 17 hours to get from Colorado to Duluth, MN, but they spend so much time in that car anyway, so I figured why not. And they did arrive after closing time of Jo's bar), I hope you forgive me, and are able to forget about that, and just pretend it could have happend in CO. And there wont be to many references to geographical places in the future.

I still don't have any beta reader, so you'll probably find some bad spelling and grammar, sorry.

Summary: After BUABS. Our boys are demon hunting again. But they have to stay low, there might be other hunters out there who want them dead. And they are still wanted by the FBI

Disclaimer: I don't own the Winchesters or anything Supernatural.


...end of chapter one:

His first responsibility was to keep Sam safe. Always had been always would be. His inner dialog was interrupted by a grunt from Sam.

"Aargh!"

Dean turned around to find Sammy on his knees clutching his head in his hands.

Chapter two

Dean's eyes widened. "Sammy?" He was beside his brother in a rush. Sam did not respond, only grunted and clutched his head tighter. "Sam?" Dean gently touched Sam's shoulder and tried to shake him back to awareness.

Kid's face was pale and sweaty and Dean knew his baby brother was having a vision. There was nothing he could do but wait it out, gently rubbing his back and murmuring softly in his brother's ear. That's what he hated about these visions, that he was not able to do anything to protect Sammy from them. He had used all his life to refining his big brother skills, and he used to think he did a pretty good job at it, then this shit started happen and made him feel worthless. Dean couldn't stand to witness Sam suffer.

He's brother's breath was harsh and unsteady, and Dean felt Sam shiver under his hand. He tried to talk Sam through it, murmuring, helping him steady his breathing. He probably did it as much for him self as for his younger brother. Well at least I'm here with him,' he thought. It was Dean's worst fear, that Sam would have a vision without anybody there, without him there to protect against the outside world. Worst case scenario, Sam having a vision during a hunt, making him totally defenseless.

Dean could feel Sam relax a little, his breathing becoming more even. Dean studied his brother, and watched as Sam slowly was coming back. "Sam," he spoke softly, like he was talking to a wounded animal. "Are you with me, little brother?"

Sam didn't answer, and Dean got slightly more worried, then Sam nodded while releasing a shaky breath, as did Dean. He gave Sam a minute to collect himself, knowing all to well how sick these damn visions was leaving his brother. They sat there in silence for a short moment, until Dean decided it was time for action.

"Think I'm a little to old for playing around on the floor. Ready to get up, kiddo?" He asked lightly. "Think the bed or a chair's more comfy."

Sam didn't answer, but let his brother help him up and leaned on him until he could balance himself and control the nausea. But he wouldn't sit down on the bed, though. He went straight over to finishing up packing.

"We need to go now. We have to hurry."

"No Sam. We need to talk about this. Like what did you see? And where do we need to go." Dean stated firmly but gently. He had a suspicion, though, on where they needed to head out to and he didn't like it. "And you need to sit down for a minute and take some deep breaths."

Sam started to protest, but one glance from Dean made him stop. He sat down heavily on the bed, and let out a sigh. "I don't know exactly what I saw, Dean, but we really need to go, five people's dead already." Sam's voice was raspy, and he cleared his throat. "Please. We need to leave, we need to hurry. If we don't go to Denver, she's gonna die too."

Taking place opposite of Sam on the other bed, Dean met his brother's eyes. "Who, Sam? Who's gonna die?"

"I don't know, Dean, but please..." was Sam's desperate reply.

Dean was close to desperation himself. This was bad, really bad. Going back anywhere near there for anything more than just a day, was risky, and this vision confirmed Sam's suspicion that there was a link to the demon, or one of the other special children which basically was the same thing. Considering their last encounter with that demon bitch, Meg, was only six weeks ago, he didn't think they were ready for this. He also knew not going, not to try to save this girl would be eating Sam up inside. And Dean wasn't happy about it either, knowing they were condemning someone to the certain death by not going. He glanced over at Sam's desperate posture while he weighted the situation. In the end the big brother in him won out, always would.

He took a deep breath. "Sam. I'm so sorry. You know I am, but I don't th..."

His words faded out as he saw Sam's face turn in to a frown and his tall frame raise from the bed in furry.

Dean watch in horror as Sam went over to his leather coat and pulled out the keys to the Impala. "What exactly are you think you're doing?"

With eyes that shine from determination, Sam gave Dean a piercing look. "I'm leaving Dean. I can't let that girl die. So I'm leaving now, with or without you."

In a second Dean was by his brother's side stretching his arms for the key. As the younger brother was much taler, he simply held the key out of arms reach for his desperate brother. But the older one was all fired up, and with a weakened Sam, Dean easily pinned him to the door and took the precious object from him.

"You think I would actually let you drive my car all the way to Denver alone?" The key was stored away in Dean's back pocket. No way was he letting go of them. 'What the hell was Sam thinking?!' "What the hell were you thinking, Sam?. What if something happened?"

Sam sighed and gave his big brother a sad face. "I'm sorry Dean, but I have to. And I wont let anything happen to you car."

'Huh!' Dean thought. 'Isthat what he's thinking?' Dean shot the young man in front of him an incredulous look. At the thought that his younger brother could really believe the Impala was the issue here, he felt the anger rise up in side. Was the kid really that stupid? "Screw my car, alright. It's you I'm worried about."

If it hadn't been for the seriousness in the situation, Sam would've made Dean say that again, it's not every day you heard Dean Winchester talk about his car like that, his baby.

Dean looked at Sam with and pleading look that matched Sam's own only moments ago. "Sam, to even go there for what Ithough was a ghost hunt," Dean said with a hint of bitterness, "...was a stupid idea. I should never agreed to it, much less this." The last was said with a voice set no longer with anger, but with a gentle pleading, uncharacteristically coming from the older brother.

Sam looked up and locked gaze with Dean, eyes begged him for understanding. "Dean I need to do this. I need to save her. Please, I cant..." There was a tremble in his voice, and Dean could see how his brother swallowed hard to get his feelings under control. "And I need you Dean."

'Damn.' Dean had to turn around. How did Sam do that, always pushing the right buttons, saying the right words, stuff that made the tough Winchester mask crumble. He wondered if Sammy knew the effect his puppy-dog eyes and pleading words had on his big brother. Yeah, who was he kidding, course he knew, he'd bet on his precious girl in black that his pain in the ass kid brother knew exactly what he was doing.

He closed his eyes and let out a heavy breath. Despite the growing lump in his stomach, screaming for him to get them both in the car and drive in the opposite direction, away from the vision, the demon...everything, he knew Sam was right. They couldn't overlook this.

"Okay, you pack up the room, I'll go check us out. We're leaving in ten." He was outside the door, before Sam got a chance to respond, and before he could change his mind about this stupid hunt.

sssNsNsss

The rhythm of the windshield wipers was relaxing. Maybe a little to relaxing, Dean admitted as he opened the window to let some fresh air tickle his face. It had started raining an hour ago, and it was now raining buckets. A few drops of water found it's way trough the open window and hit the the tired driver's face. Dean welcomed the wetness on his cheek, he rubbed his neck. God he was gonna be stiff tomorrow. 'I need a pit stop,' he thought when he saw the sign for the gas station a little up the road.

The black car came to a stop by the pump closest to the door. Dean rested his head against the seat, sighing heavily, he needed caffeine, and his baby needed fuel. He allowed himself to close his eyes for a minute, they had been on the road for ten and a half hour now, Dean doing most of the driving. Sam had offered to drive after seven hours, when Dean hadn't been able to stifle a yawn. And he had felt tired and in need for some rest, so he had changed places with his little brother, besides he though it could be a good opportunity to give Bobby a call.

Sam had looked at him with a weird expression when he said he was gonna call Bobby. "Why are you calling him? Haven't we bothered that man enough lately?" He had added with a dry laugh.

"Well, maybe, but I figured when we're gonna face the triple-threat, we could need some help." Dean stated. "Thought maybe Bobby could have an ear and an eye open for us."

"Triple-threat?" Sam's expression went from weird to confused.

"Yeah, you know, the triple-threat! the Demon, the Feds and the Hunters." A grin plastered at the older brothers face. Sam had only rolled his eyes at that, and let him call Bobby.

Bobby had promised to keep an eye on things, he also reassured Dean that non of Steve's buddies, as he knew of, was still hanging around in the area, but he warned the boys to be careful. And to call him if they met problems of any kind. His younger brother had relaxed by the news, and Dean felt relieved himself. It was good to know they had backup if needed, and Bobby was always reliable. He was one of the few people in the brothers life, they could still count on, and Dean was in deep gratitude to the man. After their father's death, Dean had almost buckled under the burden of his responsibility for Sammy and the promise he gave his dad right before he died. But Bobby had proven more than once to be a good friend.

With that in mind, and Sam behind the wheel, Dean had made himself comfortable and ready for some rest. He hadn't more than closed his eyes, before the car had swerved and his head was almost thrown of his neck, surely he was gonna get whiplash. Eyes wide open he saw in horror that Sam was slumped against the staring wheel, but fortunately they hadn't been on the highway when Sam had been attacked by a second vision, so Dean had miraculously been able to get control of the car and had pulled over.

That was it, no way Sam was gonna drive his car ever again. So after only thirty minutes in the passenger seat, Dean was back behind the wheel. He hadn't got Sammy to talk about his visions or his earlier nightmares, when asked, Sam had only told him, no begged him, to go faster. Little while later his little brother was asleep, still clutching his head.

Dean opened his eyes again, glancing at the still sleeping body beside him, wondering if he should wake him up and make him come inside with him, he wasn't comfortable at leaving the speeping brother alone in the car. But a very vivid memory from last time they visited a gas station in the area had him decide to let him be. Who knew where else Sam had been and done stupid things like throwing bottles after people. 'Not Sam,' Dean reminded himself. 'That demon bitch, not his brother.' With a sigh, he opened the door and went out in the silent night air.

Five minutes later, when Dean returned with some much needed coffee and some snack, he found Sam awake in the car.

"Hey there, sleeping beauty." Dean entered the car and watched as his brother tried to shake off the last of his sleep. "You okay there, kiddo?" With a trained look, he studied his brother for signs of any kind that said otherwise.

"I'm fine," Sam nodded. "Where are we?" He looked out in the dark, squinting his eyes while trying to find something that could tell him where they were. It didn't look like he found anything.

"A few hours northwest of Denver. Somewhere near Wamsutter, if that tells you anything." Dean said with a half smile, took a sip from his coffee, and gave Sammy the bag of snacks before he pulled out of the station. Now that Sam was awake, Dean turned up the volume of the music.

"You wanna fill me in on the visions, now?" Dean asked, voice light and gentle, after a few minutes with only the music blaring through the speakers. Sam sighed frustrated, "Not much to fill you in on." Face turned away from him, Dean barely heard what his brother said trough the guitar riff from AC/DC's 'Man in Black'. He turned down the volume again and drew a hand through his short hair with a frustrated gesture. "Well you gotta give me something, Sammy. I need to know what we're up against. How are we gonna find this girl if you cant tell me anything?"

That got Sam's attention, his head snapped up, and Dean could've bit his tongue off for being so insensitive. "Don't you think I know that, Dean? Don't you think I would've given everything to know all the details for every fucking death I have visions about so we could save them all in time?" A frustrated fist hit the passenger side window, and the button of Sam's jacket sleeve connecting with the glass, made an awful clanging sound.

"Easy there, tiger." Dean soothed. "Don't take it out on my baby." He casted a sideways glance at his brother. "I'm sorry, I know you..." He hesitated, then sighed and patted Sam on the shoulder, "Don't worry Sammy, we're gonna make it." They went back to driving in silence.

"It was light," Sam said after a while.

"What?!"

"My vision. It was light not dark outside, means it happened during daylight." Sam clarified.

"Okay. Okay, that's good, still a few hours till dawn." Still, Dean floored the gas.

sssNsNsss

"No!" She sat up in her bed, breathing hard. Looking around in the dark trough her still sleepy eyes, she couldn't remember where she was. The room was cold and a shiver went trough her body. Willing herself not to freak out, she eased herself back on the bed, let her head sink into the pillow. Lying there blinking, she tried to calm down. After a moment her eyes got used to the dark and they focused on the door, nothing there, they continued to the window, searching for something not right, but again, nothing. The search went on till the she knew every inch of the room was the way it was before she had fallen asleep. It all came back to her. The dream, she hadn't had that dream for...god how long?

Certain that the dream was the reason for her sudden awake and that the room that she now recognized as the one she had rented for the last two weeks now, held nothing more than the dust being whirled up by the cold night air, she tried to go back to sleep. The numbers on the clock on the bedside table told her that she needed the sleep, only two hours of sleep was not enough, not even for her.

The minutes ticked by, but the sweet darkness that her body longed for never came. Her mind couldn't seem to shake of the dream, every time her body relaxed and she could feel herself falling into darkness, her brain brought her back with a snap. It was as if her mind wouldn't allow her do drift of, probably in fear of having the same dream all over again.

Twenty minutes later, the red numbers of the digital clock showing 5:05 am, she gave up. If sleep wouldn't come for her, she could as well let the day begin. The floor, ice cold under her bare feet, told her mind a hot shower was a good idea.

Leaving the bathroom, her hair still damp from the shower, she felt a shill down her spine. She froze, something was not right, she could feel it. With trained eyes she searched the room again. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary. Angry at her self for letting the dream coming to her, she kicked the bathroom door closed, then gave it another kick just to make sure it got the point. She got dressed and left the room for breakfast.

sssNsNsss

It was almost six in the morning when she entered the diner, she had decided to walk, figured out she needed the fresh air. Saturday morning there wasn't many people up for breakfast this early, even in Denver.

"Good morning, Julia", Tim, the owner welcomed her. "You're up early for a Saturday". "Yeah, well somebody needs to keep you busy", she smiled back at him. She sat down at her usual table and Tim brought her a fresh cup of coffee. "Thanks", she said, feeling the warm liquid already do her good. "So", Tim looked at her with an expression on his face she couldn't recognize, "seriously, what brings you here this early?" Julia studied his face, trying to figure out his intentions. Was he actually worried about her, he hardly knew her, or was he only curious? Why would he care why she was here early, Saturday or not? She studied her coffee, as if that gave her the needed answer.

She must have used to long time before she answered, cause Tim made a weird noise, and decided to speak again. "Julia!" That snapped her out of it, she looked up at him, a little embarrassed of her fall out, and discovered that she had actually made the man worried.

"Sorry", she said with an apologetic smile, "it's to early for my brain to function properly". Tim raised his eyebrows in confusion, "Then why are you here?". "Oh, you know the saying; 'the early bird catches the worm'," she grinned. "Well, you look like you should catch some more sleep." "Hey", she feigned offended, "that's not a way to greet a woman. No wonder you are a single man". He let it pas, shook his head, took her orders and left her.

Julia mentally kicked herself as he left her alone. This always happened after nights like this, the dream continuing to haunt her the rest of the day.

sssNsNsss

Dean parked the Impala right outside room number six, the room was at the end of the building, and it's window was not visible from the road or the office. "Well, here we are," Dean yawned. He went out and stretched his body. It was 7 am, and was a quiet Saturday morning. He eyed his brother as he wearily exited the car. Kid looked like hell, dark circles under his eyes, shoulders slumped told the world this man hadn't had a decent night's sleep in a while. Dean didn't feel so great either. After almost 14 hours in the driver's seat, there was nothing more he'd like to do, then catch some sleep, but he doubted that was happening. And right on cue, Sam closed the door to dreamland.

"We should get you some breakfast before research, library opens up at nine, but maybe we could ask around first." Sam rushed the words, like he didn't even have time for talking.

Dean sighed heavily as they entered their motel room. "Sam, you do realize it's Saturday morning? Not sure there will be an awful lot of people around to talk to."

Sam took a good look at his brother, "Yeah, you right. Hey how 'bout I go over to the library at 9, while you get some rest. You look beat, man."

'Yeah, and let you out of my sight? No way, man.' "Nah, I'm good, just give me time for a shower and I'm ready for some serious eating." Dean waved his hand, "And what's that crap about getting me some food? You're eating too."

Sam only rolled his eyes. "I hear ya' big brother. Listen, you jump the shower and I go grab us some food." When Dean didn't answer, but eyed him with hard look, Sam sighed. "Look, man, it's only across the street, I'm not four, you don't have to hold my hand."

Dean looked away, "Yeah, okay. Oh and don't forget the coffee." But his little brother was already out the door. The oldest Winchester grabbed some cloths from his bag and dragged his tired body to the bathroom. He had a bad feeling about this. A really really bad feeling.

Tbc

A/N:I apologize for the lack of action in this chapter, I just needed to get our boys to their destination, and I have a thing for car rides;) But I promise there will be more (much more) action later. Just hang on till next chapter. In the meantime, I'd loved to hear what you think. Remember your opinions motivates me to write more and update this thing faster;)

Love, A-O-T