Guess who's heerrreee! We're starting to move away from the setup and into the story now, folks. Hope you like it, let me know if you think anyone is terribly OOC. I'd love to hear what you think so if you could drop a review that would be amazing.

Disclaimer: No, I do not own Supernatural or anything recognizable from it. Yes, I do own Jane, and Dog.

I'm on the road for maybe twenty minutes and I've just passed a sign that says 'Lawrence - 9 miles' when the inevitable happens. My hand is running across the dog's side as I watch the fairly empty interstate fly by in my headlights and the cab is invaded
by the overpowering stench of skunk spray. My stomach's reaction is violent and I slap a hand over my mouth to hold it back as long as possible. As soon as I manage to pull onto the shoulder and shut the truck off, I'm scrambling over the pitbull
and out the passenger door to vomit in the grass. When the heaving pauses I notice that the dog has also left the truck and is sitting next to me watching the road. I pat his back softly, "good dog." I'm not willing to risk standing again just yet
so I lean against dog and sit by the side of the road for a while. The faint sound of flowing water meets my ears and I look down the incline to see a small creek. The dog is still covered in dried blood and dirt and my face is hot and sweaty from
my stomach's latest attempt to empty itself. Nothing sounds better right now than rinsing the both of us off in that creek.

Carefully navigating the relatively steep slope, I make it to the edge of the water, my canine companion still sticking close to my side. I kneel by the creek and let my fingers test the water, it's a little on the chilly side, but not unbearably freezing.
My four legged friend seems to find no issue with it as he walks right into the ankle deep flow and starts lapping up the water greedily. He's standing right in front of me so it's easy to reach out and start working at the mess that his short coat
has become. It's slow going, some of it is clearly days old, because I have to repeat the soak and scrub a few times in some places. By the faint light of the moon I can't make out the color, but the water is clearly flowing away darker than it started.
As if he knows what I'm doing, he sits as I make my way up his back legs and then lays himself down so I can get the water to his shoulders easier. The amount of blood caked around his neck where the choke collar was makes my stomach roll again, but
I manage to reign it in.

A good while later I've managed to get his neck clean and have moved on to his face when a noise on the road catches my attention. The patrol car pulling up behind my truck with the words 'Douglas County Sheriff's Department' emblazoned on the doors makes
my whole body freeze. At my change in demeanor, the dog is instantly back on his feet, his ears pulled up, every muscle on high alert. I'm certain whoever they are is running the plates. The truck is actually in a friend's name, so I'm relatively
sure it won't set off any red flags for anyone searching for me; but that creates a problem with me going up there because, well, it isn't in my name and for all they know I stole it. Before anyone can get out and start looking around, I coax the
dog across the creek and into the tree line. When I turn back to observe I realize why the deputy stopped. In my scramble to get out of the truck, I didn't turn off the headlights and the passenger door is standing wide open. It definitely looks suspicious.
A man climbs out of the car and walks up to the truck, shining his flashlight through the windows. He's average height and pretty gangly, definitely skinnier than one would expect from somebody in law enforcement. When he turns his head to speak into
a walkie on his shoulder I know I'm screwed. At this point panic has set in and I don't think to do anything rational, like go try to talk my way out of this, instead I sink farther into the shadows and crouch down with the dog. He gets back in his
vehicle and in the glow of his computer I can see him lift a phone to his ear. It's a relatively long call and he looks surprised a couple times. By the time he's done my knees have gotten tired and I relax out of my crouch to just sit and watch.
Immediately after the first, he's making another phone call, this one short and to the point. He's once again out of his car and making his way to mine. When he gets there he pulls open the driver's side door and moments later the headlights go dark.
After closing the truck doors, he goes back to his car but doesn't leave, just waits. We wait with him, for what I'm not sure. Eventually the dog lays down with his head in my lap and I start to absently run my fingers through the fur on his half
cleaned head.

What feels like ages later, but in reality is likely only about fifteen minutes, another vehicle is stopping on the shoulder, this time in front of my truck. It's a tow truck, but from this far and with such little light, I can't make out the words on
the side. The man who steps down is taller than the first, but before I get a chance to notice anything else about him I'm distracted by the dog shooting to his feet and bounding back towards the road. I don't call out to him and I don't follow -
my brain is still in a pretty solid state of 'absolutely no fucking way am I going back over there'. Both men notice the dog as he makes his way across the creek and I expect them to be immediately apprehensive. What I don't expect is the tow truck
driver's reaction. His voice is deep, and his surprised shout carries. "Dog!? Is that you buddy!?" I can't make out any more words but the cargo lights on the back of the tow truck give me an unhindered view. He drops to his knees and the dog rushes
straight into his open arms, lavishing his face with lots of puppy kisses as the man who appears to be his owner returns the favor with a whole lot of pets. Their reunion lasts a couple minutes before they let each other go, the animal moving to greet
the grinning deputy, and the man begins hooking up the trucks to tow mine away.

As he works I finally get the chance to notice his features, and boy is there plenty to notice. The white t-shirt he's wearing is stretched tight across broad shoulders that lead to some really nice biceps. And those jeans, they hug every curve of his
legs like they've been worn so often that's just their shape now. His short brown hair looks rumpled enough that I'm pretty sure he was woken up to drive out here. When he's finished I begin to contemplate how I'm going to avoid spending the night
in these woods. I'd love to have 'sleep in my truck' as an option but that was very obviously not going to happen. My inner debate almost makes me miss something interesting. The tow truck driver is trying to coax the dog into the truck, but he isn't
going. The dog who was ecstatic to see this man moments ago is now refusing to leave with him. When he moves toward the dog, presumably to just pick him up and put him in the truck, man's best friend lets out a short bark and scampers a few feet away
before sitting and starting the process again. This goes on for a little while before I realize what's happening; the dog is leading his owner towards the woods, towards me. They've already made it to the creek, one on either side of it. The man appears
to finally give up on the game and allows his dog to simply lead him to whatever it is he's trying to show him. While I know it's useless, I can't keep myself from hiding behind a tree in a last attempt not to go out there, my hand falling to the
gun at my hip in self preservational habit. I can hear him making his way through the brush toward the tree line now, branches and leaves crunching under his feet. I squeeze my eyes shut, hoping that this isn't actually happening right now, but when
I open them again I'm still in the woods. It's barely a moment later when the dog comes prancing around my hiding tree, tail wagging. The man is right behind him but I keep eye contact with the pitbull in front of me, not willing to face the music
just yet. "Traitor."

Slowly, reluctantly, I raise my eyes to the tow truck driver. He's tall enough that from my squatting position he absolutely towers over me and I'm really not sure standing will even the odds very much, but I do it anyway. My movement draws his eyes to
my hand on the butt of the revolver at my hip. He looks back up at me and cocks an eyebrow, "you really think that's necessary?"

I don't move my hand, but I do reassure him. "If I did it wouldn't still be holstered. I trust an animal's judgement." My eyes drop to the dog sitting at his feet, staring up at him with pure adoration.

A dangerous look clouds his handsome face and I suddenly regret bringing up the canine. "Speaking of, I'm going to give you the benefit of the doubt here and assume you're not the one who took him and did that to him. Only because he refused to leave
without you. If I'm wrong, it will not end well for you."

"What!?" My hands are up, attempting a placating gesture. "No! I would never hurt an animal. I mean, I did take him." His face darkens at that and I backpedal quickly. "Not from you! From some dog fighting ring maybe two hours ago, I swear I never saw
him before tonight. He just looked so miserable and I couldn't leave him there. I mean, I didn't want to leave any of them there. But I didn't have a choice. Some of them looked pretty mean, and they were all locked up. Yours was just chained outside
and he was so sweet and my heart was breaking for him. If he had a real collar I promise I would've tried to find you but I had no idea he had an owner who was missing him. I wasn't trying to keep him from you or anything I-".

His voice cutting in makes me realize I've begun rambling and I can feel the heat of a blush creeping up my cheeks and over my ears. "Whoa, whoa, whoa! Calm down sweetheart, I believe you. It's alright. Why don't you come out of the woods okay?" He gestures
behind me in the direction of the road. "Is that your truck out there?" My eyes widen and I nod hesitantly, not sure if the deputy told him the owner's name. I am very obviously not a Benjamin. "Okay, come with me and we'll get this sorted out, okay?"
He's adopted a soothing tone, seeming to pick up on my nervousness. I follow him back to the road, wringing my hands the whole way. The other man looks very confused when we walk up and his hand drops to his service weapon when he notices that I'm
carrying. The bow-legged man walking in front of me holds up his hands, "it's alright Garth. The truck is hers, I think maybe she just got spooked."

"No way Winchester. I called the owner of the truck and he didn't say nothin' 'bout no lady drivin' it." I close my eyes in defeat, clearly this night will not be going my way. "Now, how about you try that again little lady. What are you doing out here?"

I've subconsciously angled my body behind the tow truck driver and I only notice when he steps away to turn and look at me suspiciously. Suddenly feeling very exposed, I wrap my arms around my middle and take marginal comfort in the fact that the dog
has once again come to stand with me, against my legs between me and the other two. "Look, if you just call him back, he'll tell you. It is my truck, it's just - it's in his name." Neither one looks inclined to believe me.

"Can't do that, he said he was on the next flight out and it took off," he looks down at the watch on his wrist, "twenty minutes ago." He reaches behind himself and produces a pair of handcuffs. "So you're gonna hand over that weapon and come with me
down to the station until he gets here, and then we'll get this all resolved." When he steps towards me the dog at my feet lets out a warning growl that turns into a snarl when the man, Garth, continues to move towards me. He stops and turns to the
owner of the animal with an appalled look.

The surprise is evident on his face and he immediately scolds his pet. "Dog! You don't growl at Garth! What has gotten into you?" His ears and tail droop dramatically and he turns his one sad eye to the truck driver. The deputy must think that's the end
of it because he moves forward again. Apparently the dog still isn't okay with that. He lets out a tentative growl, not wanting to get yelled at again, but not willing to stop defending me either. This time Garth steps back and Winchester steps forward.
At the movement of his human, the animal at my feet stops making noise and sits at my feet, shuffling back until his shoulders are between my knees. He looks up with the saddest expression I've ever seen on a dog and lets out a soft whine.

My eyes are wide when they meet those of the man in front of me, who's looking at me in shock. All I can do is shrug my shoulders, I have no idea why his dog is so defensive. "I don't want any trouble okay? Here." I unfasten my belt and pull the holster
off. Passing it over the dog's head to the only person he'll let anywhere near me. He, in turn, passes it to the deputy as I cinch my belt again. I look over at the officer. "Are the cuffs necessary?"

He eyes the dog warily, "I guess not."

The man next in front of me leads me off to the squad car and opens the door for me to get in. I settle myself into the seat as he holds his leg out to keep the dog from climbing in after me, closing the car door. It's a solid minute before he convinces
his pet to walk away from the car, and he still takes his time as he does it. Stopping every few feet to look back over his shoulder longingly before he finally reaches the tow truck and hops in after a wave of his owner's hand. The driver door opens
and closes and I look up to see Garth looking at me in the rear view mirror. His eyes scream suspicion and I look away, out the window. We ride in silence to the Sheriff's station and he parks right up front while the tow truck pulls into a small
side lot. Garth notices me watching and finally speaks up. "The owner is headed here to claim it and we'll see what he has to say about you." I roll my eyes at his emphasis of 'the owner' and don't say anything in response. He comes around to let
me out and I follow him inside in the muted light of dawn. He leads me to a cell and tells me to get comfortable because I'll be here at least the next two hours.

I sit on the end of the cot by the bars and tip my head back against the wall, staring at the ceiling. Moments later there's a wet nose pushing against my hand through the bars and I look over to see my loyal four legged friend wagging his tail at me.
I reach out to scratch his nose. "Hi buddy." I look up and raise my voice a little so that Garth can hear me from where he stands several feet away. "Any chance I can get some food? I haven't eaten since lunch yesterday and at this point I've thrown
most of that back up." They both look very confused so I clarify, looking at the one called Winchester. "You didn't see the state those dogs were in." His eyes go dark and he turns his head to say something to the deputy quietly.

Garth nods and turns away from him to yell down a hallway. "Jody!" An older woman with short brown hair comes strolling into the room with her hands on her hips and one eyebrow raised. "We've got a car thief here who claims it's really hers, the real
owner's on the way and due to arrive in maybe two hours. She says she hasn't eaten since lunch yesterday so I'll head out and pick up some breakfast. Keep an eye on her?" She nods and he heads out the door.

"What are you doin' here boy?" The tow truck driver scrubs a hand over his face and drops into a chair at one of the desks.

He lets out a dry chuckle. "Garth called me to tow the truck back to the station so the owner could claim it. Look who grand-theft-auto over there found." He waves a hand in my general direction.

Jody's eyes follow the movement and she notices the dog sitting outside the cell. "Well I'll be damned. Dog?" He turns his head and his tail thumps against the concrete floor. "I'm real happy you found him Dean. But how come you ain't headed home? You
could use some sleep before you open the shop."

He rolls his eyes so dramatically I'm surprised they stay in his head. "Apparently Dog is attached. He growled at Garth when he tried to cuff her. Growled, Jody. At Garth!" He's shaking his head at this point, exasperated. "And he pouted up a storm the
whole drive here because I wouldn't let him ride with her. Figured I might as well hang around. Don't want him to be mad at me when I just got him back." There's sadness in his voice, that man really loves his dog.

They sit and catch up until Garth gets back with a paper bag containing what I assume is food. Hopefully something delicious, but really anything edible will do at this point. When he opens the bag at the desk closest to the cell I'm in, it sends me diving
for the metal toilet in the corner. Nothing substantial comes up this time, but the stomach acid still burns my throat. Apparently my stomach does not think bacon and egg sandwiches smell very delicious. When I sit back on my feet and turn my head,
I'm met with two very shocked men and a woman who looks like she understands far more than I would like. She stands and moves over to a mini fridge in the corner of the room. "That might be too heavy for you right now honey, think you can stomach
a fruit cup or two?" Her eyes are full of understanding that makes me tense and teary at the same time. I nod hesitantly and she passes two fruit cups through the bars to me with a plastic fork and a water bottle. She doesn't acknowledge the confused
looks the men give her, simply picks up the bag of food and moves to the other end of the room where they eat and go about their business.

After I've finished the fruit cups and water I lay down with my head by the bars, hanging one arm down so I can still pet the dog who is lying on the other side. It's not long before my eyes fall shut and I'm dozing off.

A hand running over my hair wakes me. There's somebody in the cell with me, crouched by the cot. I look up and am met with the crystal blue eyes of my best friend. "Ya just can't stay outta trouble can ya, cher?"

As always, thank you so much for reading. I hope you enjoyed it. Feedback is always welcome. I love reviews, favorites, follows; heck, I'm happy just when people read the darn thing. Until next time, much love xx.