Chapter 6

They were strangers sharing a bottle of jack…

"Where've you been?" Sam asked when Dean finally got back to the motel. He'd been waiting up for him since he'd left. Worried to death he'd had no sleep and had spent most of the night working on finding Gordon, but despite that Dean was the one who looked like shit.

"Out." was Dean's reply.

"Thanks for the knowledge. I meant 'out where'?" Sam pushed.

"Driving." he said sitting down on his bed and wiping a hand down his tired face.

"For God's sake, Dean. Can't you give me a straight answer for once?" Sam shouted suddenly, "You've been gone all night and most of the morning, and you won't tell me where you've been…You walked out last night because you didn't like that I don't trust you anymore…Well what I am I supposed to think when you act like this?"

"What are you talking about, Sam?" he said shaking his head.

"How did I know you were coming back?"

Dean tensed, thinking 'oh God not him too.'

Sam saw his brother flinch at his words and tried to calm his voice, "Look, Dean. If I'm here; if you really want my help, you can't shut me out like…"

"I went to see Jo, okay?" Dean said interrupting him. Sam's face screwed up in confusion, but Dean paid no attention, he just sighed and continued, "And for the last few hours I've just been driving…No reason, no particular direction…just driving." With that out he hung his head so he didn't have to look at Sam anymore.

Sam sat down when Dean's words finally sunk in.

"Happy?" Dean asked looking up, but not at his brother.

Sam ignored his question completely, "And let me guess," he groaned, "You screwed things up even more?"

Dean stood up. "Something like that."

His voice and actions gave nothing more away as to what had actually happened, and that seemed to frustrate Sam even more. "Dean, I can't believe you would…"

"Sam." Dean stressed, and then he stopped, seeming exhausted, "I'm sorry, okay…I'm sorry I screwed things up. I'm sorry I'm still screwing things up." He paused and moved closer, "I'm sorry I came and got you. But let's just do this, so we can all go back to our lives."

"You mean our separate lives?" Sam stated quietly. When Dean didn't correct him Sam just dropped it. He gave a sad nod and said nothing, hands inches away from his laptop, knowing he should tell Dean what he'd found out, but now reluctant to.

"Just tell me you got something." Dean pleaded, not sure what he wanted more, to move on from this, or just to move on in general.

"I've been looking up Gordon's friend, the one Ellen told us about." Sam said now in full reporter mode. Dean came to stand behind him as the younger Winchester read out what was on the screen in front of them, "Full name; Robert John McAllister. Friends call him Mac. Has a noticeable scar on his right cheek…He survived a supposed, quote, 'brutal animal attack' in 1990."

"Which is where he got the scar I'm guessing, ouch…noticeable's an understatement." Dean said staring at the photograph before he continued, "Wait, 'supposed'? so I take it we're thinking…"

"Not an animal. From the reports I'd say Blackdog."

"That explains why the guy looks like Leatherface."

Sam let out a small laugh before he carried on, "From what Ellen told me he's a hunter, but nothing to write home about. He does the occasional job, but he's more with the 'shoot everything within a 100 yards radius and you'll eventually get lucky' gang than actually planning and tracking anything."

"Yeah, but he must be tough if he survived an attack from a Blackdog."

"Well he wasn't the only survivor." Sam looked back at Dean.

"Let me guess."

"Gordon."

Dean's brow screwed up, "But I thought Gordon hunted vampires? What was he doing going after a Blackdog?"

"Well I don't know for sure, maybe he just ran into it while looking for a nest. We've run into hunts unaware once or twice, it happens."

"So he saves this Robert guy's life, and then what?...They become bosom buddies?...Doesn't sound like the Gordon we know and love." Dean said walking over to the bed and sitting down.

"Well like him or not this is the only in we got…And I got an address." Sam said as he stood up. He scribbled down the street name on a piece of scarp paper and reached for his jacket.

"I'm not liking all the guess work and the maybes on this one, Sam." Dean said causing him to turn round, "S'like we're going in blind. Something feels wrong."

"You sure this feeling's about Gordon?" Sam asked honesty.

Dean grunted and said bluntly, "That's the last time I share."

Sam was about to say something when his cell phone rang. He took it out of his pocket and said hello as he put his arm through his jacket sleeve. He shrugged his coat on all the way.

When he stopped speaking and moving Dean looked back in his direction, "What is it?"

Sam ended the call with, "We'll be right there Ellen." Sam shut his phone and looked down at the floor. "He's not at his house, he's there."

Dean grabbed the Impala keys from the side table without a word, stood up and wrenched the motel door open.

"Someone really has it in for me." he mumbled under his breath.

As they pulled up to the Roadhouse he felt nothing, when he started to get out of the Impala, nothing. But when he shut the car door his gut twisted and he had to pause.

Sam noticed. Leaning against the car, arms laid out on the roof he called his brother's name.

"Yeah." Dean answered collecting his thoughts. He snapped out of it suddenly and turned towards Sam, "Look, we go in, get this guy, get our information, and get out." Then he walked.

Sam nodded and followed him.

Dean took a deep breath as he opened the front door. Ellen and Jo weren't there, or more likely just somewhere out of view. Both brothers started to scan the area, but for different people. Sam backhanded Dean's arm to get his attention and gestured to a man at the bar. Dean recognised him as McAllister.

The two stepped towards him, standing either side, Dean slightly further back.

"Hey, are you Mac?" Sam asked him, trying to sound relaxed.

"Who wants to know?" the guy replied as if he was in the mafia or something, he never looked up from his beer. He was trying to appear tough and the scar helped, but not enough to fool them.

Sam laughed, "Yeah. Yeah, I thought it was you. You're Gordon Walker's friend right?"

At that the man flinched and shifted in his seat. "I don't know no Gordon." he said quickly gulping down his beer. When he wasn't able to finish it in time he abandoned it, swivelled to face Sam and stood up, "'xuse me."

He paused when he felt a hand smack down firm on his shoulder.

"We just want a nice friendly conversation." Dean said.

Sam saw the guy panic slightly. He hadn't known there were two of them, and now he worried how many people were after him. Definitely not a hunter Sam thought. Too fidgety.

"Look, we're not gonna hurt you, man. Alright?" Sam said, trying to calm the panic in his eyes.

"Well he isn't." Dean gruffed behind McAllister, making him jump.

Sam glared at Dean, "Not helping." was the only thing he said.

"Look guys I…" The guy tried to pass Sam, shoving him.

Instinctively, and over protectively Dean turned him around by the scruff of his coat and socked him in the jaw. Unfortunately McAllister fell onto the edge of the bar and knocked himself out cold.

"Uh." Dean groaned holding a hand up to his head annoyed, and thinking 'just my luck.' "Perfect." he said sarcastically letting his hand fall to his side.

Sam rushed over to check he was okay. "Just unconscious." he said standing back up. "He should be fine…once he wakes up."

"If he wakes up." Dean said, not before groaning again. He kicked a stool to the right of him in frustration, "Damn it!"

Sam looked up to see 5 or more hunters. Each with their eyes fixed on them. Just as they heard a chair screech as someone made a move to get up and rush them Jo came in, and everybody turned to her.

She stopped, accessed the situation, then huffed and rolled her eyes when she put two and two together. She rocked on her back foot and clapped her hands together twice. "Okay…everybody out." When her outburst was met with unwilling moans she added, "Now! Come on guys!"

She walked over to the unconscious man. "Get him on that table over there." she whispered to Sam as friendly as she could. "Get him awake and then get him," she said, meaning Dean, "out of here." She walked away.

"Jo wait." Dean shouted quietly as he raced after her. He caught up with her in a few strides and grabbed her apron, bringing her round to face him.

She stared up at him with piercing eyes; some kind of clouded anger. Even though she was pissed – and he knew she was – there was a mask over everything now. She didn't trust him with her feelings, and he didn't want to see them. It was partly because they were strangers of a sort, and it felt wrong to harbour any kind of strong feelings for a stranger, so everything was masked.

He kept her gaze. "Look," he paused, "we just need this guy to tell us where Gordon is. Then we're gone."

She nodded softly and he let her go and turned to Sam to nod. Sam went into the back. When Dean turned back to Jo as Sam passed by them he noticed she'd slipped behind the bar. She grabbed a bottle of whiskey and came back around. She didn't say anything, just moved over to a stool and sat down, so he did the same.

Dean reached for the bottle, but Jo stopped him. She got up and he grabbed her wrist again, "Where you going?"

"I forgot to get glasses." was all she said to him.

"After everything," he paused for effect, "we've done worse together than share a bottle of Jack."

Jo huffed and snatched her arm away from him almost playfully. She went behind the bar again, came back, sat down where she had been before and slammed the glasses down either side of the bottle to prove she wouldn't be backing down. That she was boss, or at least to prove that she was trying to be.

He played along. He owed her that much.

AN:- It seems one excuse after another, but I bring good news and bad news regarding this story...

Bad news first...ARGH 3rd year at Uni, Jan exams done, but my dissertation project needs to be finished in March, and is like a 30-40page scientific journal on an experiement I haven't finished (plus presentations to my supervisors from now til then ARGH) its all worth a ridiculous amount of my final grade, so I'm going to be mega busy until its finished...

Good news is after the 15th of March I will have NO Uni work apart from revision, for exams I don't have til the end of May (and basically I know you guys don't know me, but I don't do too much revision, I can normally wing exams...which I DON'T suggest anyone does, but I can do it) which basically means I don't know if I'm going to be able to update before then, but afterwards I promise to finish this story up completely and hopefully to a high standard I can be proud of...when it comes to having the time to write I will always totally take advantage of it because I miss it loads :)