AN: I apologize for the delay. I did warn you this one would come out a little slower. I do have most of it planned out though. Thank you for the reviews. Toodles everyone, AT

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2 years ago

Antigo, Wisconsin

Dean studied the map in front of him in deep concentration, as he double checked the text message he'd received on his cell minutes earlier. It was almost noon but the motel room was dark, the only source of light coming from the window next to him. The open blinds let the sun's rays through, providing Dean with all the light he needed as he sat at the small desk. He heard sounds from behind him but didn't bother to look up or turn around. Sam stepped out of the bathroom and walked over to his older brother.

"What are you doing?" He asked looking over Dean's shoulder.

Dean handed him his phone and showed him the text message.

"It's a text message" He said "Coordinates"

"You think dad was texting you?" Sam asked curiously.

Sam put the phone down again and picked up their dad's diary, looking through it for anything that might indicate what the coordinates might be for.

"He's given us coordinates before" Dean said, marking the place on the map.

"The man can barely work a toaster, Dean" Sam said looking from the map to the diary "Wait a minute; this place is in dad's diary. Rockford…looks like an asylum"

"Illinois it is. Let's go" Dean said as he started to pack up their stuff from the small desk. He looked at Sam who had picked up the phone again "Don't bother, it's an unknown number"

"I know" Sam said.

"Who are you calling, then?"

"Isabel" Sam said scrolling to Missouri's home number "Haven't talked to her in a while"

"It's been a week since we left, Sam" Dean said rolling his eyes, dumping the stuff into his duffel bag "And we spoke to her two days ago"

Sam chose to ignore him. It was true what Dean had said though. However, even though she hadn't been with them for long, her absence the past week was palpable and the tension between himself and Dean was only intensifying.

"Hi Missouri" Sam said as the older psychic picked up the phone "Is Isabel around?"

He could hear Missouri call out for his cousin and he waited for Isabel to come to the phone, as Dean started to pack up the few clothes scattered around the room.

"Sammy?" Her voice came through the phone "You again? Am I going to have to get a restraining order against you?"

"You don't want to talk to me?" He asked in mock offence "OK then, bye"

"No, no, no, wait" She said quickly with a chuckle, though she knew he was only teasing and wouldn't hang up on her "You know I'm joking!"

"How are you?" He asked with a smile he wished she could see.

"I'm good, really good" She said "No nightmares"

"Really? That's great"

"And there's more. I met one of Missouri's clients the other day, and she's got me a job where she works" She said excited "I have a job!"

"That's great!" He said surprised his cousin seemed to be taking the separation better than he and Dean were "Where at?"

"The local strip joint"

His face paled "The what?"

He heard her laugh "I'm kidding! You, my dear, are too easy! I'll be working at her health spa. She's going to train me and I'm going to do a massage therapy course. How cool is that?"

"Sounds really good, Bel" He said, excited and happy for her though at the same time berating himself for believing her. She was right, he was too easy.

"How are you guys? Is it lonely without me?"

"Yeah" Sam admitted "I miss you making fun of me, but Dean's been picking up the slack"

Dean snorted and glanced at his brother before picking up his bags and carrying them out to the car.

"I'm sure he has" Isabel said.

"You miss us too?" He asked timidly.

Though he couldn't see it she smiled at his tentative question. He was such a cutie.

"Every minute of every day Sam" She said sincerely "I've got no one to fight with here. You know how hard it is to pick a fight with a psychic? They're so damn understanding. Missouri just won't take the bait!"

"That's a shame" He said dryly "I'm sorry to hear you're getting along"

"We are" she said with a small laugh "She's great. Where are you guys now?"

"We're about to make our way to Illinois. It's weird actually. Dean got a text message with coordinates this morning. We think it may be from our dad" There was silence on the line and Sam wondered if she heard him "Bel?"

She knew Dean would have received the message by now. She knew they would assume it was from their dad. She even knew that either he or Sam would mention it to her the next time they spoke. But she still wasn't prepared to lie, or rather, to keep from them the not-so-little fact that, while the message had come from their dad, it had been sent by her. She was glad she was on the line with Sam, because for some reason, Dean could read her like no one else and he would be able to tell straight away she was hiding something, even if she wasn't standing in front of him. He'd be able to tell just by the sound of her voice.

A weight settled on her shoulders then. If her cousins ever found out she'd been in contact with their dad and lied to them about it, they would be less than impressed. She might actually have to end up joining the witness protection program like she'd joked about previously.

"Yeah sorry, I was just thinking." She said unsurely "You know, Sam, maybe whatever your dad's doing, he doesn't want you involved. Maybe it's something dangerous"

"What?" Sam asked skeptically at his cousin's uncharacteristic siding with his father.

Dean had walked back in and was looking at Sam's troubled face questioningly. He ignored his brother's stare and picked up his own bag, stepping out of the room into the sunny motel parking lot. Dean had left the trunk open for him and he dumped his bag in.

"I'm just saying, that I'm sure he's got his reasons" She said, wincing even as she said it because she hated keeping things from her cousin and knowing that he could sense there was something she wasn't saying.

"Since when are you taking his side?" Sam asked a little more bitterly than he would have liked. He slammed the trunk shut.

"I'm not Sam, I'm just…never mind" She said and quickly changed the subject before he asked more questions and she ended up putting her foot in her mouth "Hey, did I by any chance leave a scarf in your car?"

He still wondered where her comment about his father came from but decided to let it slide. Maybe Missouri and her had spoken about what had happened. Maybe the psychic had been able to bring Isabel around in a way that he and Dean hadn't been able to. In any case, if her anger towards her uncle was waning, he wasn't going to ask too many questions about it.

"The purple one? Yeah, you did" He said glancing through the rear window of the Impala at the silk scarf she'd left behind "you left it in the back seat"

Dean had actually noticed it the day after they left Isabel in Kansas, reaching an arm behind his seat and pulling it with a questioning frown. Sam had suggested they take it back, figuring they were still close enough to Lawrence that it wouldn't be a huge detour, but Dean had shaken his head and thrown the scarf back saying they would just give it to her the next time they saw her. And that's where it was now, in the same spot Dean had left it one week ago. It stuck out like a sore thumb against the black leather.

"It's not purple, it's lavender" She explained, as if to a colorblind child "Damn, it's one of my favorites!"

"Do you want us to bring it back?" Sam asked hopefully. He knew that if she asked then Dean would say yes.

"No, that's OK. It's only a scarf" She said now more cheerfully "Keep it as a memento, or you can wear it if you like"

"Funny"

"You can give it to me next time you see me. Just make sure Dean doesn't give it to one of his…playmates"

Sam smiled and rolled his eyes "I'm going to tell him you said that"

"Tell him. I don't care" She said with a shrug, though she immediately realized he couldn't see it "You're in another state, what's he gonna do? He's only got you to bitch and moan to now"

"Yeah" He said with a glance towards his brother as Dean walked out of the motel room and closed the door behind him "Tell me about it"

She laughed a little nervously "Hey, listen Sam…I've got to go"

He frowned at her tone "Everything OK?"

"Yeah…just" She took a deep breath and finished her sentence quickly "I've got a date"

Sam was taken aback "A date?" Dean turned around and tilted his head to the side, looking at Sam with raised eyebrows.

"Yep, he's picking me up in ten minutes. It's a gorgeous day down here. We're going out for a picnic lunch"

"Who is he?" He asked leaning back against the passenger door of the car.

"You know the woman who got me the job? It's her younger brother. He came to pick her up from Missouri's appointment and he asked me out. I thought, why not?"

"Well, are you sure you're ready?" He asked, not sure how he felt about it. Part of him was happy for her, part of him wondered if it was a little too soon.

"No. But there's no way of telling unless I try it, right?" She said casually before whispering mischievously "Get right back on the horse…so to speak"

"OK, then" He said slowly, always a little uncomfortable with her sexually suggestive choice of words "What's his name? What does he do?"

"Sam, can we do the interrogation another time?" She asked impatiently "Don't worry, Missouri assures me he's a good guy"

"I'll let you go then, get ready" Sam said glancing again at his brother, who was now next to him scowling and motioning for Sam to hand him the phone "Dean says hi. Talk to you later, bye"

He hung up quickly and Dean clenched his jaw "I heard the word date" He said tightly.

"Isabel's got a date" Sam said casually though he knew Dean would pounce on it and not let go "And a job. She sounds really happy"

"Who with?" Dean asked coolly and Sam smiled knowing his brother was not as blasé about it as he would like to think.

"At a health spa" Sam answered "One of Missouri's clients has a…"

"The date Sam!" Dean interrupted curtly.

"Missouri's client's brother" Sam said "It's just a date Dean, relax"

"I'm not worried" Dean said with a shrug, pulling car keys out of his pocket "I just don't want her to rush into anything. After everything that's happened, I think the last thing she needs is…"

"It's a date Dean" Sam repeated, interrupting his brother's tirade "She's not marrying the man!"

Dean looked at Sam pointedly before turning around and walking to the driver's side of the car with a shake of his head.

"Unbelievable! We leave her alone for just one week!" He heard Dean mutter to himself as he briskly opened the car door and sat at the wheel "One week!"