"Dean." Pulling her lips away was like prying a necklace out of the vacuum. "Dean. We have to go."
"Two more minutes." Dean nibbled at her lower lip before stealing another kiss, his hand wound through her hair.
"You said that ten minutes ago." Sydney tried to hold back a moan as Dean ran his hand over her bare stomach. "Sam is waiting."
"He can wait a little bit longer."
Sydney let herself get pushed down onto the bed for the third time that morning. Dean thumbed the lacy edge of her bra as he laid kisses down her jaw and over the pulse in her throat. Giggling as his scruff scratched her chest, Dean continued his journey over both of her breasts. Sydney gasped harshly as he pulled one out of the fabric and into his mouth.
One of their phones buzzed over on the nightstand, followed closely by the other.
"Dean, I mean it." Sydney tried again, but her voice was losing its edge. "He's gonna walk in here, and I do not want him seeing this."
Dean didn't hold back any of his frustration as he sighed, pushing his head into Sydney's shoulder before sitting up. Sydney quickly adjusted herself, giving him a half-hearted smile and kissing his cheek.
"I thought sending your mom back home was going to give us more time together." Dean grumbled as he stood to grab his clothes.
"We just spent the entire night together!" Sydney laughed as she resumed putting on her shirt. Picking up the phone, she saw the text from Sam. 10 minutes or I'm leaving.
"Well that's just…" Dean trailed off, not thinking of a better response.
"You told Jodi to meet us at 9. Stop taking your regret out on me and get your butt moving."
Almost by fate, Dean chose that moment to bend over into his duffel bag. Sydney grabbed a pillow and launched it, hitting perfectly in the center of his ass and laughing. Dean bolted upright, mischief in his eyes as he looked at her.
"You aren't careful, and you're gonna be walking to the diner."
Sydney shrieked as he picked up the pillow and ran into the bathroom, slamming the door shut just as it made contact.
As she collected the rest of her things, Sydney thought about how free she finally felt. It had been hard, sitting her mom down on the porch of the cabin and explaining everything that had happened. Patricia, to her surprise, hadn't seemed all that shocked, just smiling and taking Sydney's hand.
"Is that why you sent me out on so many errands?" Patricia joked.
Not having planned out her speech, Sydney had trouble putting her thoughts into words. Dean was a big help, explaining how Sydney was still needed for the investigation, but if Patricia kept a low profile, there shouldn't be any more problems.
"I'm going to tell you something that will make you think I am crazy." Dean gulped, twisting his hands together. "If anyone barges in or is acting suspiciously, throw some cleaning solution with borax on them."
Patricia blanched, looking between the two of them incredulously.
"Mom, I promise, when this is all over I will explain everything if you want me too. But the less you know, the happier you are gonna be."
Eventually she agreed to let Sydney stay with the guys. There were a couple tears, and she hugged Sydney just a little tighter than usual. Everyone helped Patricia gather her things over the afternoon and put her onto a bus to Billings. If Sydney hadn't been looking in the right direction, she would have missed her goodbye to Dean.
"If you get her hurt, I know where to find you." Patricia whispered. Dean had reddened, nodding as she reached up to hug him.
Now Sydney returned with the rest of her bathroom essentials and dumped them in her bag. Dean was out in the hallway on the phone.
"We're coming, chill Sam."
Sydney collected everything, sweeping her eyes over the room before shutting the door. Under the awning outside, Sam was waiting in an old red Camry. With a lurch, Sydney remembered the Mustang that they had abandoned at the cabin, no one willing to use it.
"I swear, you two are insufferable," Sam mumbled from the driver's seat as Sydney threw in her bag.
"We appreciate you getting the car ready, Sam." Sydney leaned over the seat and kissed his cheek. He grumbled low in his throat, but Sydney didn't miss his smile.
"Why is there a rental logo on the back of this car?" Dean demanded as he climbed into the front.
"It was in an old scrap yard a town over." Sam responded bitterly.
"What if it still has a record?" Dean continued, his voice escalating. "Can someone track us? We already talked about this, Sam, I don't care about your conscience!"
"Whoa, guys, cool it." Sydney interrupted. "What are you even talking about?"
"Nothing," Sam grumbled.
"Sammy hates borrowing cars," Dean said at the exact same time.
"What if we are taking a car from someone who really needs it?" Sam's voice exploded, and Sydney was sure people at the other end of the parking lot had heard him.
"Don't!" Sydney hissed as Dean opened his mouth, ready to argue back. She turned to Sam. "I think it's very kind of you to be concerned about that." She didn't miss the glare that Dean shot into the backseat.
"Thanks," Sam muttered. "I checked the number," He added to his brother, "this hasn't been in anyone's rental system for over ten years. No one will be looking for it."
Taking his silence as acceptance, Sam put the car into drive and turned out of the parking lot. It was awkward in the car the few minutes it took to get to the diner. Sherriff Mills was leaning against her car as they pulled in. Sam got out quickly, walking over and giving her a hug. Sydney lingered next to her open door as Dean got out.
"No one asked you to play mediator," Dean told her, his voice tight.
"Hey, I was not taking his side. You blew up at him, after pushing his limits all morning, and didn't even tell him how worried you were about leviathans catching up."
Instead of Dean continuing to pick a fight, he just stared at Sydney, his eyes wide.
"What?" Sydney questioned, suddenly feeling uneasy.
"You amaze me more and more every day." He smiled, shocking Sydney, then leaned in to peck her lips. "Although I'm starting to think you're more of a mind-reader than a psychiatrist's daughter."
"It's not very hard to read you, Winchester," Sydney chuckled as Dean pulled her against him.
"You would be the first to say that. C'mon, let's eat."
Jodi greeted all of them just inside the door, throwing a wink in Sydney's direction while Dean was looking at the overhead menu. Sydney blushed in Dean's arms. She heard Sam ask where they wanted to sit, but all she could see was stoners.
There was a couple who looked like they had planned to go out for a run, a group of three guys, and an older man sitting at the bar. Every single one of them looked how Sydney had felt after the turducken. As she watched, one of the guys dropped two of his fries, stared at them for a few seconds, then shrugged and kept eating.
"Dean," Sydney hissed. He had been eagerly debating his breakfast but as he looked at Sydney and then around the restaurant, he tensed visibly.
"Let's go," He muttered, tugging at Sam's sleeve and nodding his head. Jodi opened her mouth in confusion and followed them outside.
"What was that?" She exclaimed.
"This place has been hit." Dean responded.
"Hit? Wait, you mean…"
"Leviathan," Sam chimed in. "They look just like the guys in New Jersey."
"I've been noticing more and more people acting weird, but I thought it was just the full moon or something." Jodi shook her head. "So you said you think it's in the meat?"
"Either the meat, or just food products in general." Sam responded. "What else have you seen, Jodi?"
"I only got into town yesterday, I was in Williston taking care of things, then I had to go back to base at Sioux Falls and handle some B and E's. Not sure what else is going on here in Laurel."
"Jodi," Sydney gasped, "how are you even standing right now?"
"I'm used to it," Jodi shrugged. "Ever since they extended my perimeter, I've gotten pretty used to all the driving."
"We need to figure out where this food is coming from." Dean continued, just as Sydney heard his stomach rumble.
They decided to split up, checking other bakeries and restaurants for people affected by the goo. Finally settling on a local mom and pop joint, that thankfully had Wi-Fi, they settled in to eat and discuss everything that had happened.
"Williston was a bust. By the time me and Garth had talked to the locals, everything had calmed down. I probably won't ever know if a leviathan took over that deputy."
"Why were you even suspicious?" Sydney asked, eying Dean and Sam huddled over the laptop.
"After the news had gotten out about his death, there were three different phone calls saying they had seen the man walking around. Garth says it was probably just a ghost, but I wish we knew for sure."
Taking a bite of her scrambled eggs, Sydney wondered about all the other people who had experienced a weird phenomenon like she had. She could only hope they were safe and going on with their lives.
"Bingo," Dean whispered. Both women turned, rapt with attention.
"It looks like that diner, along with two other restaurants in town, has changed food suppliers." Sam told all of them. "Once you follow the trail, it looks like they are all owned by Dick Roman."
Sydney didn't miss Dean clench his fist on the table, and she quietly put her hand over his.
"He's the one who…" Jodi started, looking between them. She gulped, "killed Bobby?"
They all nodded, sharing a moment of silence.
"I think after we get some answers here in town," Dean spoke finally, "we need to go pay a visit to Frank and find out what he might know."