The next morning came. John was already out by the time Dean dragged himself out of bed and into the main room, his Dad left in a hurry and scrapped a note saying;
Tonight.
Look after Sammy and keep your friend distracted.
Dean had to sigh at the note, he waited by the telephone for twenty minutes before it rang
"Hello?" Dean started
"Dean, I need your help!" Rose sounded like she was crying
"What's wrong?" Dean no longer felt tired
"My Dad- He- I think someone is after him, can I come over to the Motel for a while, I need to clear my head" Rose begged down the phone
"Yeah, knock twice and I'll know it's you" Dean nearly used an ordering tone but kept his cool
"Gotcha. I'll be about twenty minutes"
The two ended the call.
Dean had to rub his face hard, how in the Hell was he going to help her? He cared for her despite only knowing her a few days, he mentally cursed Sammy for rubbing off on him in making close friendships in such a short amount of time.
"Sammy!" Dean called out
"Yeah?" Sam was still bleary from waking up
"I hate you" Dean dragged it out so Sammy knew he wasn't being serious
"Aww" Sam fake whined "See why I hate moving about so much"
"Shut your cake-hole Sasquatch"
"No"
"Bitch"
"Jerk!"
The bathroom door shut, 'Princess will steal all the hot water again, oh well, suck it up Winchester' Dean pouted to himself, he had to focus on Rose and not just her looks - which was difficult not to focus on - and her kindness, she was helpful and did have a feisty attitude but Dean could see himself in Rose, under the barking orders of a man she couldn't overpower no matter how much she wanted to, with Sam she was a shoulder and a guide, as Dean was certain she spotted Rose kicking some douchebag's ass for Sam's honour and couldn't help but smile.
God dammit. He liked her. He shouldn't but he did, there was just something about her that Dean found himself allured to
"Shit" Dean hissed to himself "I'm a Hunter. Hunter's don't get to have relationships of any kind"
He heard the all familiar sound of Rose's bike revving outside and approaching the door but nearly three minutes had passed and no knocking had occurred. Dean stood himself up and made a mental note to redo the salt check in an hour
"Rose?" Dean asked loudly
"Yeah?" She answered hesitantly
"You're still outside"
"Yeah. I can't knock on the door"
"Why?"
"Salt"
Red flags started going off "What, are you allergic?"
"...Yeah. Can you open the door please?"
"OK" Dean still cocked the '45 that laid under his pillow every night and stuffed it under his coat. He unlocked and opened the door and made a tiny split in the line "Come in"
"Thank you," Rose seemed lost in thought as she staggered in the door
"Are you OK?"
"No. My Dad is being targeted by some maniac Hunter, I am losing my mind and I have no idea what to do. School is asking questions about the bruises and marks and I can't keep giving them excuses, someone will catch on and I'm sorry for interrupting your day but I just needed someone to talk to that I can trust and confide in" Rose ranted as she dropped on to the uncomfortable chair
Sam re-entered the room drying his hair, "What's going on?"
"My Dad is being targeted by some lunatic who seems to think he's possessed or something" Rose blurted out
Sam gave Dean a panicked glance but Dean's calm demeanour helped the younger Winchester relax, he couldn't let anything slip otherwise their and John's cover would be blown out of the water.
Before more could be said a pair of revving engines echoed around the area, Rose's Father - Adrian burst in the door, Dean wanted to shoot himself in the foot; he made the rookie mistake of not fixing the salt line, John was going to kill him is this thing didn't.
Adrian lunged at Dean, Sammy tried to help but was pushed back into the opposite wall, Dean's gun slide away from his grasp as he was pinned on the dirty carpet
"Dad, no!"
Rose hoisted herself around Adrian's neck and twisted herself away, forcing her Father to twirl away with her, they was thrown into the foot of Sam's bed, both Father and Daughter were snarling at each other while Dean tended to Sammy. John entered the room and a load of rock salt burst into Adrian's back, he vanished and Rose was left hyperventilating on the floor
John strode up to her and aimed the shotgun at her chest "Least I can send you back too,"
"Don't!" Both Winchester boys shouted
"What?" Distracted Rose kicked the shotgun out of John's grasp and shoulder rolled backwards kicking his hip causing him to fall. Rose sprinted out of the room, the rock salt shot missed her by a few inches
"Who broke the salt line?!" John slammed the door shut, Sam and Dean were on their feet, silent
"Who?!" John barrelled out
"Me" Dean ducked his head down
"Look at me, solider"
Dean complied with shaking fear
"You ever make a mistake like that again you will suffer consequences, is that understood?" John's voice fell low, deadly and rage-fuelled
"Yes Sir" Dean hushed
"Excuse me?" John demanded
"Yes Sir!" Dean repeated louder
"Your job is to protect Sammy and he could of gotten hurt. Your mishap has now blown our cover, you better pray that they are still in town tonight"
Dean didn't reply, guilt was clear on the boy's facial expressions alone
"I'm heading out the quarantine that Son of a Bitch. You two will be on my six, no mistakes and no let-downs, is that clear?"
"Yes Sir" Both Sam and Dean replied
"Pack your things and get ready to leave within three hours. I'll head out to keep both Adrian and Rose under that roof. I'll be back here to collect you both then we head out" On that note John was back out the door.
"I'm sorry Sammy" Dean whispered
"It's OK, Dean. You did protect me"
"Get some rest, I'll pack up and redo the salt lines now then I'll wake you up in ninety minutes"
"OK" Sam did a bit of packing before curling up on his bed and eventually fell asleep.
John returned within his time limit and signalled for both boys to follow him into the Impala and end this Hunt.
