Chapter four

I woke as the tires of the Impala hit a deep pothole in the road. "Ooh." I heard Dean whisper, as I began to right myself in the seat. It was beginning to get dark, only a sliver of sun was peering from the skyline. "Sorry." He apologized, looking over into the backseat. "It's fine." I said. My head began to throb ferociously, and I pinched the bridge of my nose to keep the pain at bay. "Ow...What happened?" I asked, suddenly remembering today's events. "Well..where do I start? Hm, that sonofabitch Merkar decided to show his face. He knocked you out, so I decided to beat his ass for you." Said Dean proudly. 'Okay, Sam did it...but I'm not gonna tell her that...' He thought jokingly.

"Thanks"

Dean shrugged, "Again not a problem. That guy had you good…"

It went quiet.

"I ate your pie…" He confessed. I giggled, thinking that he didn't know that I didn't care. "That's alright. I wasn't gonna eat it anyhow." I replied. Sam began snoring a little bit, and I stuck my head in between the two front seats. I noticed a small nick on Dean's jawline, only a few centimeters from his lips. I studied his profile. He had stubble along his jaw and thick, but cropped dirty brown hair. He caught me staring and asked softly, "What?"

I shook my head, and turned my attention to Sam. "You have the cutest little brother…" I commented. "Oh yeah, sure. When he isn't being a whiny bitch or a pain in the ass." Dean said sarcastically. "Oh, c'mon, he can't be that bad?" I asked persistantly. It was silent again. I massaged my hands. "What are you interested in?" He continued, glancing to his right.

I narrowed my eyes curiously at him. "Me?...Um...70's Rock and Roll. Mostly Rock. Bit of blues. Bit of metal. Especially Metallica...Uh, pie, cooking pie, actually. And coffee. Black. No cream and sugar. And..well, you. But just a little bit." I admitted, the last part a bit hesitantly.

Dean raised his eyebrows, then smiled. "What can I say, I have that effect on women. Men, too. Sometimes." He said. I looked at him, then we both laughed at the ridiculousness of it. "No kidding!" I sighed. "Oh yeah? Is now a good time to say I told you so?" Dean asked playfully. I heard Sam begin to stir, and I smiled. "Way too cute...Boop." I poked Sam's nose with my index finger. Dean stared at me, wide-eyed. Only briefly glancing at the road to make sure he wasn't swerving.

"Did you just 'boop' my brother's nose?' He questioned, a hint of strained laughter in his voice. "Don't you have to drive?" I mimicked. Dean chuckled, then gave me one of those crazy I'm-going-to-do-something-stupid looks. He gunned the Impala's gas. It's engine roared. I was thrown back into my seat. Sam jolted awake and exclaimed in surprise. "Woah, woah, woah! Dean!" He cried.

I laughed quietly as the car began to slow to a cruise. "Wuss." Dean teased. I coughed to stifle a giggle, and Sam went back to his grumbling slumber.


"That was some driving back there…" I muttered, almost to myself. Dean sighed contentedly as he eased up on the gas. "Thanks." He said. I cleared my throat and bit my lip. "Well, um..goodnight...I'm tired, so I'm gonna try and get some rest…" I paused, and without any forethought, I reached my neck over the seat and swiftly kissed Dean on his jaw. Exactly where that scratch was.

A friendly peck wasn't going to hurt anyone, right? I sat back in my seat and laid myself down, resting horizontally on the seat. "See you tomorrow boys…" I whispered, slowly dozing off.


Dean continued driving. He was only slightly surprised that Laurel had kissed him. She did say she liked him. And he didn't mind the attention he was getting. anyway. In fact, he thoroughly enjoyed it.

"Dean?" Sam was awake. The younger Winchester checked his wristwatch. "It's 3:04am. Want me to drive?" He asked groggily, rubbing the sleep from his eyes. "Yeah…" Sighed Dean. In one incredibly swift move, Dean made a show of pulling over. The tires whine screeched to a stop, and he turned off the engine. He looked at Laurel to see if she was still sleeping. 'Must be tired to sleep through that…' He thought.

Dean switched seats with Sam. "Next stop, Illinois. Did some research when you went to see Laurel...We got people going missing, people seeing crazy stuff, the whole shebang." Same explained. Dean nodded in understanding. "Any ideas?" Sam shook his head.