Chapter 4: Communication Breakdown

It was around four when they finally checked into the motel in the middle of town. Savannah dropped her bags as soon as she was inside and flopped herself on the nearest bed with a sigh. The rest of the car ride had been quiet and she was happy about that.

"Ohhhh no. I'm getting a bed to myself tonight." Sam said as soon as he spotted her on the bed. She sat up and looked at him with a sigh.

"But Saaaaammmy." She whined as he shook his head.

"No…nope. I'm getting a bed to myself tonight." He repeated stubbornly. Savannah pouted at him for a few more seconds before giving up.

"But Dean snores!" She tried one last time.

"I don't snore." Dean said from the door way. Sam and Savannah exchanged looks.

"Oh, you definitely snore." Sam confirmed as he plugged in his laptop.

"Well you….are unusually tall…" Dean faltered, unable to produce a snappy comeback. Savannah gave him a look, a smirk spreading across her face.

"Unusually tall? That's what you come back with?" She scoffed and Dean shrugged his shoulders defensively.

"Shut up. I'm going to get some food." He said, grabbing the Impala's keys off the dresser.

"Get coffee!" Sam and Savannah told him at the same time. Dean gave them a wave as he closed the door. Sam started unpacking and Savannah took the time to leaf through her Dad's journal again. She skimmed the pages, looking for something helpful. There was talk about vampires, about demons, werewolves, shifters and hellhounds, but nothing about kids or sucking their blood. Savannah took care not to read too much about the hellhounds. The very thought of them sent a shiver down her spine. She hated them with every ounce of her being; because those were the things that had taken her father. All Savannah knew about her father's death was that he'd made a deal with a crossroads demon when she was just a baby. She'd asked every one of her father's friends, but no one knew what the deal was, and if they did, they sure as hell weren't letting her in on it. She'd almost gotten Bobby to spill the beans once when he was drunk, but he wised up at the last second and told her to quit prying. She yawned as she closed the book with a snap.

"It helps if you talk about them, you know." Sam said from the bed he was sitting on. His eyes were boring into hers and she ran a hand through her hair absentmindedly.

"I know. It's just…hard." She admitted. He gave her an understanding smile.

"You're really not having visions, right?" He asked quietly after a lengthy pause.

"I sure as hell hope not. They're more like flashbacks than anything." She told him, noting the relief that washed over his face. She knew Sammy's visions were troubling him and Dean wasn't helping the situation by constantly undermining him. But Savannah knew that's just how they were. Their whole life it had been Dean's mission to make sure Sam was okay and Savannah had guessed that the reason Dean hated talking about them was because deep down, he was scared. Sam knew it, but he just wanted his brother to tell him he still cared. Sam thought he was a monster and Dean knew as well as Savannah that was anything but the truth.

"Yeah, well, at least yours aren't coming true." He spat after a second. Savannah noticed the anger flash through his eyes. Truth be told, she'd watched Sam's anger worsen since his visions had started. He was getting angrier every day and it was starting to worry her. If she looked hard enough at him, she could see the rage lying just under the surface, waiting for the right time to explode out of him. And truth be told, it was starting to scare her. Sammy wasn't supposed to be the angry one; that was a job best left for Dean. As if on cue, Dean came strolling in through the door. He held a bucket of fried chicken in one hand and a 12 pack in the other.

"Do you always have to get fried chicken when we're in Louisiana?" Sam complained. Dean's eyes were glowing with smugness as he looked at his brother.

"When in Rome, Sammy." He said as he threw them both a beer. Savannah drank gratefully, relishing the carbonation as it sailed into her stomach.

"So what's the game plan here?" Dean asked, settling himself across from Savannah at the table.

"Well, there's research we need to do, and we still have to interview the parents and the kids that are awake." Savannah listed as she piled chicken and mashed potatoes onto a plate.

"So we research tonight and interview tomorrow?" Sam suggested. Savannah nodded in agreement as she dug into the greasy mess. She had to side with Dean on this one, Louisiana knew how to make some damn good fried chicken.

"Good. So I'll canvass the neighborhood and you two can hit the books." Dean smiled at them with his usual boyish charm.

"And by canvas the neighborhood, you mean get piss drunk at a bar and hit on the waitresses. Noooo way buddy. How about I "canvas the neighborhood" and you hit the books for once." Savannah retorted. Sam sighed at the two of them, knowing fully well that he'd be drug along to the bar with them both. They ate in silence and Savannah didn't even bother to bring up the fact that there wasn't a coffee cup in sight.

"I'm at least getting a shower before I watch you two get obliterated all night." Sam said after he'd finished eating. Dean shrugged and Savannah busied herself in a thick book she'd borrowed from Bobby. She was a few dozen pages in when Dean sighed restlessly from his chair. She glanced at him over the top of her book.

"Dude, relax. You know Sam's showers take like, two seconds." She stated, not surprised he was getting anxious. He wasn't one to stay in one spot too long.

"It's not that. I'm just…I don't know…worried? Something's not right with him." Dean whispered, shooting a glance to the bathroom door. Savannah put the book down and looked at him.

"I know. He's been off for a while now. Ever since he started getting those visions of his." She agreed.

"I don't like it one bit, Vannie. Nothing good can come of them, I just know it." He confessed as he shot another uneasy glance at the door. Savannah knew that Dean would always be that 10 year old little boy who constantly worried about his little brother. It'd been like that since the first time she'd ever met Dean and she knew he wasn't changing anytime soon.

"We don't know that for sure, Dean. And you can't keep badgering him about them either. He can't control them and you know it." She reminded him, her voice taking a gentler tone. Dean huffed in response and slunk back in his chair.

"I know, but I just get this gut feeling that it's so much more than just visions." He said and before Savannah could make him elaborate, the bathroom door opened. Sam looked at Dean and then at Savannah at their abrupt silence.

"What?" He asked, suddenly feeling self-conscious.

"Nothing. Just uh, figuring out what bar to go to. I think I saw a pretty good one down the street." Dean said, his words coming out too quickly. Sammy shot them a suspicious look, but kept quiet. Savannah changed and they headed out into the warm night.

The bar was only a few blocks away and even at 6:45 at night, it was already pretty crowded. They found a quiet table in the corner and Dean went to go get them beers. Sam leaned in closer to Savannah after he was out of earshot.

"So what were you guys talking about when I was in the shower?" He asked and Savannah hated when she was cornered like this. It's not that she was a bad liar, hell, the job practically required being good at lying. It was just that she hated lying to the boys, Sammy especially.

"Like Dean said, just what bar to go to." She said, forcing her voice to sound casual. But Sam wasn't buying it.

"It was about my visions, wasn't it?" He asked with conviction. She wondered if he could read minds as well. There was no way that he could have overheard them with the shower running like that.

"What? Of course not. You're outta your mind Sammy." She waved off his suspicions as best she could. She looked around the bar, hoping for Dean to get back and provide a distraction. She spotted him still at the bar, more than likely chatting up the attractive blonde bartender with less than real boobs. She sighed in annoyance and slipped up to the bar, catching the tail end of Dean's sentence.

"-shot in action a few years ago. Made a full recovery though. If you're lucky, I'll show you the scar after your shift." The bartender giggled and Dean gave her an over exaggerated wink that turned Savannah's stomach. She coughed to get his attention.

"Oh, this is my one of my partners, Detective Benatar." Dean explained and Savannah stifled back a smirk as she shook the girl's hand.

"You must have been terrified when Dean got shot saving you." The blonde said; her eyes wide. Savannah kicked Dean under the counter as she forced a grin.

"Oh yeah. Worst day of my whole life. I'm sorry to break this all up, but my partners and I need to get back to work." She said as she steered Dean away by the elbow.

"Seriously?! Shot in action? Could you get any more Lethal Weapon?" She hissed at him as soon as they were out of ear shot. Dean didn't bother replying. He just smirked at her and took a sip of his beer.