Nightmares plagued him while he slept, his mother's body clung to the ceiling, her eyes wide with horror as she is quickly swallowed by flames and John shoving a very tiny Sam into his chest and screaming at him to run.
Dean woke up covered in a cold sweat, his heart pounding so hard he thought it might break through his ribs if it didn't slow down.
"Dean! get up!" Sammy hollered.
"I'm up, I'll be down soon" He yelled back, his voice gravelly from sleep.
Dean sat up with a groan and rubbed his eyes with the back of his hand before glancing over at the clock.
"How is it 10:00 right now? Didn't I just close my eyes a second ago" He thought groggily.
Dean quickly threw his work clothes on and ran out to the scrapyard to find Bobby, knowing he shouldn't have been working hours ago.
"Morning Dean, how'd you sleep?" Bobby chirped, taking a socket wrench to something under the hood of the truck he was working on.
"Morning Bobby, I slept okay I guess" Dean replied honestly, still reeling slightly from the nightmares.
"Nightmares again?" Bobby asked, his eyes never leaving the parts he was working on.
"Yeah" He admitted.
"I'm sorry, I know what that's like" Bobby assured him kindly.
"I know you do, don't worry about me. I'm okay" Dean replied, finding his strength again.
The rest of the morning went by quickly after that, Dean and Bobby worked together on a 1967 Chev Truck with a bad motor, slowly taking it apart to find the problem.
"Well, it's 2:30. You should go get changed, Beth will be here soon" Bobby told him with a grin.
"Good idea" Dean agreed, wiping his grease covered hands on his jeans before heading back to the house for a much needed shower.
Dean's head swam with excitement as he stood under the barely warm water, allowing it to stream through his hair and down his back while he tried to slow his heart-rate down.
"Come on, get it together. Beth will be here soon" Dean thought, pushing the shower knob down with his foot before climbing out.
Dean quickly dressed before going to work on his hair, carefully running his hands through it and twisting a few pieces between his fingers as he sculpted his dirty blond locks into a perfect bed-head look.
"That's more like it" he thought with a grin, starting to calm down.
"What are doing in there?" Sam asked from the other side of the door.
"N-nothing.. Just getting cleaned up" Dean replied, startled.
"Well you better hurry up, Bobby is looking for you" Sam told him with a chuckle before walking away from the door.
"What does Bobby want?" Dean wondered as he quickly hung the damp towel up to dry before going to the kitchen to look for Bobby.
"Hey kid, how are you feeling?" Bobby asked, his voice warm and comforting.
"I'm fine" Dean lied, his heart rate jumping.
"You don't need to be nervous, you'll be fine" Bobby commented, glancing at him over the edge of his newspaper.
"So.. Sam said you were looking for me?" Dean replied hoping to change the subject.
"I just wanted to make sure you're doing okay, that girl should be here any second" Bobby reminded him.
Dean's heart skipped a beat, for a split second he had forgotten she was coming.
"Don't worry kid, you're going to be fine just be yourself" Bobby laughed, seeing the sudden panic flicker across his face.
"Thanks Bobby" Dean replied, feeling a little better.
"There's someone at the door!" Sammy yelled from the living room.
"I'll get it!" Dean called back.
"Hiya Dean" Beth chirped as he opened the door.
"Hi Beth" Dean replied.
"Did you bring your music?" He asked with a grin.
"Right here" She beamed, turning slightly to show him the backpack she was wearing.
"Cool, I know the an awesome place we can go listen to it" He told her, looking back at Bobby once more before stepping outside.
"So do you live here?" Beth asked as they walked between two rows of flattened vehicles.
"Um.. Sort of, my dad had to go out of town for work so Sammy and I are staying with Bobby until he gets back" Dean explained nervously.
"Oh, my dad works out of town too sometimes" She smiled.
"This place is so cool" She blurted out suddenly.
"What do you mean?" Dean asked curiously.
"Well look at all these awesome cars! That's a 1965 Chevrolet C-10 shortbed pickup truck right there!" She beamed, running up to it to take a closer look.
"You like cars?" Dean asked in disbelief.
"I love cars! My grandpa used to restore and sell them before he passed away last year" She explained.
"Really? I help Bobby restore cars all the time" He told her, suddenly feeling calmer.
"Awesome!" Beth chirped.
"Come on, I have something to show you" Dean beamed, grabbing her hand and pulling her to the far end of the scrapyard.
Beth's eyes widened with excitement when she saw the old Nomad on the hill.
"I thought we could sit in here and listen to the music" Dean grinned.
"Perfect!" She gasped, hauling him up the hill towards it.
Dean opened the passenger side door for her before climbing in the other side.
Over the course of the afternoon the two of them went through every cassette they owned, singing along to every song at the top of their lungs.
Rock you like a Hurricane faded out, marking the end of the cassette as they erupted into a fit a laughter.
"I don't think I've ever had this much fun" Dean laughed, happier than he could ever remember being.
"Me neither" Beth giggled.
"By the way, towards the end there, did you or did you not play your leg like a guitar?" Beth asked with a laugh.
"I may have" Dean replied, a crooked grin playing on his lips and his cheeks burning slightly.
"Awesome" She whispered.
Beth shifted, moving in closer and playfully biting her bottom lip for a second before leaning over and kissing him.
"Wow" Dean gasped.
"I was waiting for you to that but.." Beth grinned, clearly pleased with herself.
Dean grinned and quickly returned the kiss, noting the sweet cherry flavour of the chapstick she was wearing.
"This girl is amazing" he thought fleetingly as her lips parted slightly against his.
Beth wrapped her fingers into Dean's hair, pulling him closer as their lips pressed hungrily against each other.
Dean let his instincts take over, gently pushing Beth down onto the bench seat of the Nomad and tracing his tongue along her soft, cherry flavoured lips.
Beth moaned softly as he ran his right hand along her ribs, pressing his fingertips into her hip and shifting his weight on top of her.
"Do you want me to stop?" Dean whispered breathlessly.
"No" Beth murmured, burying her lips against his neck and biting gently.
Dean tangled his fingers into her long chocolate curls, tilting her head up slightly and pressing his lips under the edge of her jaw, sucking the skin between his teeth and lightly biting down.
"Dean!" A voice shouted from just outside the vehicle.
"Sammy!" Dean gasped, quickly sitting up and scrambling out of the car.
"What are you doing out here Sammy?" Dean questioned, his face flushed with embarrassment.
"Bobby's' sleeping in his chair again, I got bored" Sam shrugged.
"Damn it Bobby, you were supposed to be watching him" Dean thought, feeling annoyed and concerned at the same time.
"Go back to the house Sam. Now." Dean ordered.
"I don't want to!" Sammy groaned.
"I don't care, you aren't supposed to be here alone. You know that" Dean replied, feeling more like his keeper than his brother.
"You're out here alone" Sam replied, irritated.
"Because I'm older than you and I'm allowed" Dean retorted, watching the aggravation spread across his baby brothers face.
"That's not fair! I don't want to go back to the house" Sammy whined, crossing his arms and stomping his foot like the child he was.
"Life isn't fair Sam. I'm the oldest, I'm in charge. MARCH" Dean snapped, not in the mood to deal with a tantrum.
Dean stared, unwavering as Sam glared at him, stomping his feet in rebellion.
"I swear Sammy, if you don't go back to the house right now, so help me I will drag you there kicking and screaming" Dean warned, voice filled with authority.
Sammy stood his ground, stubbornly determined to get his way.
"I warned you" Dean growled.
Sam's eyes widened with disbelief as Dean took several steps towards him and grabbed a hold of one of his ears and walked him back across the scrapyard to the house, yelping and fighting the entire way there.
"You had fair warning kid" He thought as Sam scrambled, trying unsuccessfully to get out of his grasp.
"Let go!" Sam squealed.
"No. This is for your own good Sam, it's my job to keep you safe. Never forget that" Dean told him, sounding very protective.
Dean dragged Sam clear across the scrap yard and into the house, slamming the door behind them.
"Room. Now." Dean barked, letting go of his ear.
Sam stormed off without a word, stomping his way up the stairs and eventually slamming the bedroom door.
"Bobby" Dean called as he walked towards the living room.
"W-What.. Yeah Dean?" He grumbled sleepily.
"You promised you would keep an eye on Sammy for me" Dean reminded him, sounding more hurt than angry.
"I am, he's upstairs reading isn't he?" Bobby replied, baffled.
"He is now. He came and found me out in the scrapyard and I dragged him back here" Dean explained.
"Balls. I'm sorry Dean, I sat down to do some research and I guess I nodded off" Bobby apologized.
"It's not your fault Bobby, I'm not supposed to let him out of my sight, I'm supposed to be taking care of him" Dean mumbled, scolding himself.
"Dean.. I'm sorry I fell asleep on you but Sam is fine" Bobby assured him.
"You can't keep an eye on him 24/7, he's growing up too and I can promise you that he will fine on his own for a while" Bobby told him softly.
"But dad said not to let him out of my sight" Dean replied almost robotically.
"John isn't here and Sam isn't a baby anymore. Believe it or not, he can take care of himself from time to time" Bobby replied sternly.
"I guess you're right but can you please keep him in the house? I have to get back to Beth" Dean pleaded.
"I'll keep him in the house, don't worry" Bobby replied softly.
"Thank you" Dean replied before heading back to the Nomad.
"Sorry about that" Dean apologized as he climbed back into the car.
"Who was that?" She asked curiously.
"That was Sammy, my little brother" Dean replied, still slightly annoyed.
"Oh" Beth smiled warmly.
"He's not supposed to be out here alone, I had to bring him back to the house" Dean explained with a sigh.
"Do you take care of your brother? where's your mom?" Beth asked innocently.
"Yeah, I take care of Sam. He's my responsibility when Dad's out of town and mom.. she died.. in a house fire when I was four" Dean answered honestly, his voice going raw towards the end.
"Oh.. I'm sorry.. I didn't.." Beth trailed off, staring down at her fingers self consciously.
"That's okay, mom has been gone for a long time" Dean reassured her, taking her hands in his.
Beth pulled Dean into a hug, holding him tightly for a moment and hoping it would help.
"I'm sorry about your mom.. I know what it's like.. my mom is gone too" Beth told him softly, tears rimming the edges of her big blue eyes.
Dean wiped away her tears with his thumbs and pulled her in close, holding her tightly against his chest for a long time.
"I.. I should go" Beth sniffled.
"It's getting dark out, let me walk you home okay?" Dean pleaded gently, suddenly feeling protective of her.
"You don't have to, I know the way home" Beth assured him.
"I know I don't have to but.. I'd feel a lot better if I could" Dean told her honestly, his voice raw with emotion.
Beth nodded and quickly put everything she brought with her back into her bag.
"I just need to tell Bobby I'm leaving before we go" Dean informed her, taking her hand as they walked towards the house.
"Hey Bobby, I'm walking Beth home. I'll be back" He called into the already dark house.
"Be safe" Bobby bellowed back.
Beth started to shiver as they walked hand in hand, towards her street and goosebumps covered her arms from the cold.
"Are you cold?" Dean asked caringly.
"A little bit" Beth replied reluctantly.
"Here, wear this" Dean smiled, pulling off his leather jacket and draping it over her shoulders.
"Are you sure? Won't you be cold now?" Beth asked, her cheeks turning pink.
"I'll be fine, you need it more than I do" Dean replied warmly, a crooked grin stretching across his face.
Dean couldn't help but smile as Beth slid her arms into the jacket and pulled it closer, holding it against her skin as they walked and when she thought he wasn't looking, buried her face against the soft leather.
"This is me" Beth sighed as they walked up to a large white house with dark green shutters and a wrap around porch.
"Good night Beth" Dean whispered, softly kissing her.
"Good night Dean" She replied, biting her lower lip before sliding the jacket off and handing it back to him.
"Will I see you tomorrow?" Beth asked quickly.
"You know where to find me" Dean grinned, his eyes sparkling with excitement.
Beth quickly kissed Dean one more time before running into the house to escape the cold.
Dean pushed his arms back into his jacket and started back towards the scrapyard.
The smell of apple shampoo clung to the old leather and filled Dean's nose as he walked against the wind.
"Hey kid, how'd it go?" Bobby asked with a grin as Dean stepped into the house.
"Awesome" He smirked, his cheeks burning slightly.
"Beth is.. amazing" He sighed.
"Oh, I've seen that look before" Bobby laughed.
Dean blushed deeply, looking down at his hands in embarrassment.
"Your dad called earlier by the way" Bobby mentioned, sounding a touch angry.
"He did? are we leaving?" Dean asked, feeling panicked.
"No. The job is taking longer than he thought it would, he doesn't know when he'll make it back" Bobby replied reassuringly.
"Oh" Dean breathed, his heart still thundering in his chest.
"Where's Sam?" He asked curiously.
"Upstairs, I sent him to bed an hour ago" Bobby assured him.
"Thanks Bobby" He replied through a yawn.
"Sounds like someone could use some sleep" He laughed.
"Yeah, that might be a good idea" He agreed, stifling another yawn.