When the two crossed paths, they literally crossed. Neither looking where they were walking, they collided into each other, sending books flying to the ground. "Sorry," the boy mumbled without even looking up. He bent down to pick up his books from the floor.

"No, no, it was my fault," The Doctor helped collect the books, standing back up to hand them to the kid. When he did so, he finally got a look at the boy's face - and he recognized him instantly. Before he could stop himself, he asked, "Are you Sam? Sam Winchester?"

Sam's eyes widened as he gave the Doctor a one-over. "Depends. Who are you?" Sam didn't recognize the man, but it was possible he was a "friend" of his fathers. He tended to not pay much attention to them. At the same time, he knew to keep his guard up - just as Dean taught him.

"I'm the Doctor. It's nice to meet you, Sam." The Doctor stuck out his hand for a shake, and Sam hesitantly obliged. He had already met Sam plenty of times, but it seemed Sam had not yet met him. "I'm a friend of your brothers."

One of Dean's friends... figures he'd be a weirdo. "You're a friend of Dean's? He never mentioned you." He asked skeptically. This guy was more like John's age than Dean's. It was possible he was a hunter, but Sam couldn't be sure.

"I'm not surprised. I haven't seen him in a while." The Doctor explained. He could tell Sam was wary of him, but he couldn't blame him. He was, after all, a stranger to him. "If he's in town, I'd love to see him."

Sam bit his lip, a nervous habit, as he considered the Doctor's offer. Dean didn't have many friends, so if this guy was legit, Dean would want to see him. On the other hand, he could be some crazy axe murderer or a demented monster. "Well, Dean's picking me up soon. I guess you could come outside and wait with me."

The Doctor grinned. "Fantastic. You need help carrying those?" Sam nodded, figuring it couldn't hurt, and handed the top few books to him. As they walked outside, the Doctor read through some of the titles. "Myths and Legends of the Ancient Greeks?" He read aloud. "Biblical Demons and Plagues? Is this normal reading for you Americans?"

Sam's face went red. "Oh...no. Those are for... a school thing." He stammered.

The Doctor chuckled. "Don't worry. I know all about the... family business."

"What? Are you a hunter?" Their dad wouldn't let them tell anyone about what they did - especially friends. Sam couldn't believe that his brother, who took his father's word as gospel, would have disobeyed him like that. He must have been a hunter.

Surprisingly, the Doctor shook his head. He explained, "You're brother helped me out with a... ghost problem." It wasn't technically a lie, even though it hadn't actually happened yet for Dean. But that was beside the point.

"What did you say your name was, again?"

"Just call me the Doctor."

"Are you an actual doctor?"

"Not exactly."

They both heard a loud car horn as a black, '67 Chevy Impala rolled into the library parking lot. The engine shut off, and a 16 year old Dean Winchester got out. At first, he only saw Sam. "Hey, Sammy! How did my geek brother like-"

The Doctor's eyes met Dean's as he saw Dean register who was standing beside his little brother. "Hello, Dean."

Sam glanced back and forth between the two. "Um... Dean, this guy said he was a friend of yours... a Doctor or something?"

"Yeah... yeah Sam, he is." Dean's face was shocked, but soon he was grinning again. "It's good to see you, Doc."

"So you do know each other." Sam walked over to the car, followed by the Doctor. "How come you've never mentioned him, Dean? It's not like you have very many friends."

Dean shot Sam a look before returning his gaze to the Doctor. "So what have you been up to, Doc? It's been awhile, but I'm used to that by now."

The Doctor thought about all that had happened since he last saw Dean and decided not to say anything. "Oh, you know. Out and about in the TARDIS, as usual." He tried his best to smile sincerely.

"No companion this time?" Dean asked, jokingly.

The Doctor clenched his jaw, and shook his head.

Dean recognized the look immediately, and decided it best to change the subject. "Well, my dad's out of town for now, so... if you wanna come back to our motel..." He offered.

"That would be lovely."


"Here we are. Sorry, it's not much," Dean unlocked the door to the motel room they were calling home for the time being. Sam hated it - and made it more than clear to anyone who would listen. Dean wasn't a fan of their temporary abode either, but to him that was all it was - temporary.

"Hmm," Sam scoffed, pushing past Dean into the room. "Home, sweet home."

"Hey, watch it, bitch." Dean rolled his eyes. He motioned for the Doctor to come in.

"Jerk." Sam mumbled, dropping his books on the bed.

"Don't mind him. He's always angsty now-a-days." Dean laughed. "So what brings you to Pawtucket?"

"Oh, you know, just going wherever the TARDIS takes me," He replied, trying not to sound as gloomy as he felt. What were the odds that the TARDIS decided to make a pit stop in the same town that the Winchesters happened to be in? Whatever the reason...it can't be a good one.As much as he adored the boy, Dean seemed to be a trouble magnet.

"What's the TARDIS?" Sam asked from across the room. Watching the two of them interact was... weird, to say the least. They both talked vaguely to each other like they were trying to hide something, and Sam didn't like it.

"Nothin', Sam. Just the Doc's car. He loves the damn thing almost as much as I love mine," Dean grinned.

Sam rolled his eyes. "Somehow I doubt that."

The Doctor smiled. He loved watching the boys banter back and forth. In their later years, they seem to be missing that absolute ease with each other that they have now, even if it was strained, sometimes. He looked back at Dean. "What are you two doing in this town, anyway?"

"Dad's hunting a spirit of some old hospital across town." Dean explained. "It's spring break, so we're only here for the week." Sam made some noise akin to a scoff and Dean rolled his eyes.

"You aren't hunting it with him?" The Doctor asked, surprised. He didn't like the idea of Dean hunting, but the kid seemed to enjoy it, so he would have thought he would jump at the opportunity.

A hurt looked flashed across Dean's face, but only for a moment. "He didn't need me on this one. It's just a simple salt-and-burn. Besides, somebody's gotta look after Sammy." He spoke the second part so softly the Doctor figured Sam probably didn't even hear it.

"If it's so simple, why isn't he back yet?" Sam argued, finally coming over to where the other two were standing. "He said he would just be staying at the hospital overnight and then he'd be back. It's been three days, Dean."

"Chill out, Sammy. He's been late before." Dean tried to put his arm around his brother, but Sam shrugged away.

"It's Sam. And I know, that's the point, Dean." He looked like he was fully prepared to argue more, but then he looked over at the Doctor and stopped himself. "Whatever. I'm going to go read." He muttered, and then retreated back to the farthest bed from the door.

Dean sighed, and the Doctor decided to intervene. "Why don't you and I go grab a burger, huh?" He asked Dean.

Dean glanced over at Sam, who did not look back. "Yeah, sure. I'll be back soon, Sammy. You want anything?"

Sam just shook his head, not even looking up from his book.

"Let's go, then."