As Dean drove down the highway, he drummed his fingers on the steering wheel to the beat of the music that was blaring from the car's speakers. Although his eyes were on the road, his mind was a million miles away. He was on his way to Bobby's place, where he planned on rebuilding his car's engine. The Impala was one of the very few things that remained constant in Dean's life. As a result, he cared for it the way any parent would care for a child. He took care of it and ensured that it was well maintained and healthy. Dean valued things that he could rely on and knew that work went into making things dependable. And right now, the only things that Dean could depend on were the Impala and the weapons that were in the trunk.
Sam was off at college and John was somewhere. Dean didn't know where his father was. He only knew that John was busy with a hunt and had left Dean on his own. But, Dean had no qualms about being left alone. He had spent many years, as a child, being left alone to care for his younger brother. Dean was accustomed to having only himself to rely on and knew how to look out for himself. It wasn't that he preferred to be alone. Rather, it was out of necessity that Dean had been forced to be comfortable with only having himself to depend on. Throughout his young life, Dean had been responsible for his younger brother and had bore most of the responsibility for raising Sam. The eldest child had been expected to act as the guardian of his younger brother and was constantly reminded by his father to look out for his younger sibling. Dean had willingly done as he was told and felt that he had done his best.
And now, Dean was alone. His brother had left him for college. Dean had mixed emotions about his brother's absence. He understood Sam's need for normalcy and could understand his brother's desire to get out of hunting. Except, that meant that Dean couldn't turn to his brother for help during a hunt and that his brother wouldn't be there to watch his back. It meant that Dean was truly alone and had no one who he could freely talk to about hunting and everything that went with it. A long, resigned sigh escaped Dean's mouth.
Right now, all Dean could rely on was the Impala and he was going to do everything he could to ensure that she would stay with him for many more years to come. Cars never leave their owners; instead owners are the ones who move on to another car. But, Dean wasn't one of those owners. No. He planned on keeping the Impala forever. As long as he maintained it and cared for it, the Impala would never fail him and would never leave him stranded all alone, unlike some people in Dean's life.
Dean's eyes glanced in the rearview mirror. Catching a glimpse of the car's backseat, Dean recalled the years that he and his brother spent riding in the back. He recalled the long, tedious hours spent riding from one strange town to another. A large portion of Dean's childhood had been spent as a passenger in the Impala. Hell, he could honestly say that he and his brother grew up in the car. Most people recall growing up in a house and all the time they spent there. Dean never had a house to grow up in, after the supernatural took his mother from him.
Before Mary's death, Dean had a normal life. He had two parents and a place to call home. He had a yard to play in and neighborhood friends. His life was just like many other kids his age. He even had a younger brother, who he planned on playing with and throwing the ball with. At that time, there really wasn't anything in Dean's life that would have set him apart from other kids his age. And that remained true, up until the night that his mother was killed. After that night, Dean's life was never normal again. In fact, it was so far from the reservation that no one would ever believe what Dean's life had become.
Dean's life went from having a house to call home, to a life of traveling from place to place. As a child, Dean had been jealous of people who had mobile homes. Although they too traveled from town to town, they at least got to sleep in the same bed night after night. Dean never knew where he and Sam would get to sleep. Some times, they got to sleep in a hotel or an empty house. Other nights were spent sleeping in the Impala. To lessen the impact of having an uncertain future, Dean had turned all the traveling into a game. Sam was too young, when Mary died, to be able to recall what it was like to have a home. And Dean did his best to make Sam feel safe, wherever they went. But, Dean knew that how they were living was wrong and knew what they were missing out on. As Sam grew up and interacted more with kids his age, Sam too came to realize what others kids had that he didn't. On more than one occasion, Sam had openly asked Dean why they didn't have a home and Dean had had to come up with an answer that would satisfy his brother's curiosity.
During their life on the road, the Winchesters rarely encountered the same person more than once. It was normal for the brothers to make friends in a school for a few short months and then never see or hear from them again. And so it was that the brothers learned to rely on each other, since the only constant in their lives was each other. One of the few exceptions was Bobby Singer. Dean never really knew how it was that John had met Bobby. But, Dean did know that John trusted Bobby and on more than one occasion, the boys got to spend a night at Bobby's place. In fact, Bobby's house was the only place that the Winchester family had visited and stayed at on more than one occasion.
And now, when Dean needed some place to stay and work on his car, he turned to Bobby for help. All it had taken was a quick call and Dean was then on the road to his friend's place. Not only did Bobby have a familiar bed for Dean to sleep in; but, the man also had a garage for Dean to work on his car in.