This chapter has been a freaking pain to post. I am sick of this site and fictionpress messing up all the freaking time. Sorry...not in a good mood. But I finally finished this chapter :D Yay. I've been working on it off and on for days now.

Why am I in such a bad mood?
1) Saw Papaw for the last time today. His stupid family just finally told us where he was last night. Today was his last day according to the docs. I freaking hate his stupid family and I hope they die and rot in hell.
2) I've had a headache all day.
3) I am really tired even though I took like a five hour nap earlier when I got home.

So, yeah. Bad mood. But on a lighter not, my friend's eighteenth birthday was last night and we had it at a hotel. It was awesome! We swam and had pizza and watched movies and played video games. :D Very fun. The only bad thing was that my headache steadily got worse as yesterday went on so by the time we went to bed, it was on fire and I got very little sleep because of it, even though I took a sleeping pill for the pain. Ugh.

Um...I have decided to make this 'Road Trip' thing have 4-5 parts, depending on what I do in them. I planned some of it out a while ago but I haven't really looked at those notes in a while. I plan to have the Road Trip thingy end when they get to Bobby's but stuff's gonna happen along the way :D

Thanks for reading my little rants. And if I disappear for a while, you'll know why. Then again, I might need a distraction and wind up typing tons of chapters, who knows?

Onward!

Chapter Twenty-One: Road Trip, Vampire Style pt 2

"I don't like this," Mick said, pinching at the bridge of his nose with his index finger and thumb as he sat in the Impala with Dean. Dean was, as always, in the driver's seat. They were parked along the curb in front of a hotel. The elder vampire was currently shifting uneasily in his seat despite the comfortable upholstery - as Dean had so eloquently put it earlier when Mick had complained - and he couldn't quite seem to calm his jumping nerves. He wasn't sure what it was about Dean's family, but they made him nervous and increasingly uneasy. The thought of sending Dean in there with them, alone, felt an awful lot like sending someone into the lion's den. As a sire, his senses were screaming. As a friend, he could understand the need to let Dean see his family. The vampire half of him, though, was on guard which actually worried him more than he cared to admit.

"You didn't have to come," Dean said with exasperation, leaning his forehead against the steering wheel. Mick could understand Dean's exhaustion. The two of them had been talking in circles for the past five minutes. Dean knew Mick didn't like this. Mick knew that Dean wasn't going to just suddenly change his mind.

So why was Mick here with Dean when he wasn't even going to get to go inside with him anyway? He didn't really know. A part of him whispered that he should have been at Logan's with Alex instead of leaving the other vampire in charge. However, a much larger part of him was the sire half of him that was muttering at him to be there for support should Dean need it. He was also there in part because he had a bad feeling about this. He wasn't sure if it was just because of his reluctance at allowing this to take place or because of how John Winchester had shot him earlier, or Dean's multiple statements of how his father would kill him. Either way, this just put a dark feeling in the pit of his stomach, and he hated it. He hated worrying about people. He hated thinking he had to worry about people.

"Yeah, like I was just going to sit around at Logan's." He shook his head and sighed heavily. He felt his glum mood sift through the bond but didn't bother to stop it. Dean already knew how he felt about this anyway.

Dean sighed as well. "Look, they're my family. And besides, Sam said Dad's ready to give it to me in writing that he won't try anything. Isn't that good? Then we can swing by the house and grab Alex and head out and be on the road within the hour. Sound good?"

"Sure," Mick said, shaking his head. "In theory."

Dean frowned at him. "What are you so worried about, anyway? Nothing is going to happen. He's my dad. He's just going to sign something. He might be a little pissed but he won't do anything. He doesn't even know you're in the car, if that's what you're worried about."

Mick shook his head and didn't answer, only folding his arms across his chest in response in a somewhat childish stance. He honestly wasn't sure why he was so worried. All he knew was that he had a bad feeling about this, and in his years as both a vampire and a PI, he knew to listen to his feelings and gut instincts, and they were screaming at him that this was a bad idea. "Keep the bond open," he finally grumbled as Dean moved to get out of the car.

Dean chuckled. "Yes, Mom." Then he climbed out of the car. He poked his head back in through the open window and watched Mick for a moment. Mick frowned back at him, puzzled. "Don't mess up my car. Don't touch the stations. Don't touch my music. Do not put your feet up on my dash. No sudden onset vomiting on my glorious, comfortable upholstery. No biting your lip with your vampire teeth and bleeding in my car. No attracting trouble. Are we clear?"

Mick blinked at him, momentarily amused. "Wow. That's a lot. Should I take notes, officer? I didn't realize you were the Nazi of cars."

Dean snorted. "Just follow those little rules and we're good." Then he walked around the car and disappeared into the hotel.

Mick grumbled in frustration, his arms still petulantly crossed, as he let his 'inner kid' - as Dean put it - show. He didn't like this. He'd told Dean thousands of times since Dean had gotten the phone call earlier this morning from Sam. Sam had told him that John had agreed, finally. And then Dean had promised he'd be there soon. And here they were, two hours later after feeding Alex - who apparently had a bottomless pit for a stomach that had also dug quit the pit in Mick's wallet - at the hotel John and Sam were staying at. It was a small one for LA, only around five stories. Mick wasn't counting.

His cell started vibrating in his pocket and he sighed and whipped it out, pressing it to his ear. "Hello?" he answered as amicably as he could at the moment, what with the scowl on his face and everything.

"It's me," came Josef's voice. "I've got about three vampires looking for you right now. They just left my office. They were asking questions, which of course I deflected, but they're obviously looking for Dean. Where are you two?"

Mick hesitated as he looked around as though those three vampires were suddenly going to be right there. "Um…outside of some hotel. Dean's talking to his family." He swallowed because he realized too late that he hadn't actually told Josef that Dean's family was in town.

There was a small pause. "Wait a minute. The family Dean's been avoiding for four years? The hunting family?" Josef growled through the phone.

Mick sighed heavily. "Uh, yeah. That'd be the family. His father and brother."

"So…Dean's father, who happens to be a hunter, is there. The very father who Dean said would kill him?"

"Uh…yeah. That one. I don't think there's another one." Mick's gaze shifted toward the entrance of the hotel, but Dean wasn't coming back out yet.

"And you let him?" Josef's voice was calm, like usual, but it left Mick sighing heavily.

"It's his family," Mick said. "They tracked him down a few days ago."

"Oh, you mean when all of this started? And you didn't think to…oh, I don't know…tell me?"

"I'm sorry…he didn't want anyone to know until they were better with each other."

"And is his family responsible for you being shot?" Again, calm and low voice.

Mick hesitated. He'd lied enough, though, and there was already so much he was keeping from his friend. "Well…yeah. His father decided I would make a good throw rug. But I'm fine. And he's meeting with Dean now to say he won't try anything when we go on our trip."

Thankfully, this wasn't another bombshell. Mick had called to tell Josef earlier that he, Dean, and Alex would be going on a road trip to get out of the city for the time being, until things cooled down. He left out the part where Sam and John might be going with them, or the fact that they were going to hunt down a demon who was trying to set Lucifer free and they'd been sent to do this by angels. Hell, this was Mick's life at the moment and he even thought he was crazy sometimes. He didn't want to know what Josef might think of him.

"They're going with you? What the hell, Mick?" Josef sighed heavily. "Do you and Deano have some secret death wish I'm not aware of?"

"What? No. Don't be ridiculous. It's his family, Josef."

"And I thought we all agreed it was best if they stayed separate?"

"No. You and Dean agreed to that. I was neutral. Switzerland." He looked toward the hotel entrance to see if Dean was coming out yet, but he wasn't. He sighed heavily. Dean needed to hurry up. How long could it take to read over a piece of paper?

"Fine, whatever. Are you sure you're okay with this?"

And that brought Mick back to the bad feeling in his stomach. "I'm not sure. Sam let Dean feed from him, so I think his brother is kind of okay. Sort of. I don't think he'd hurt him. But his father…I'm not sure. I mean, after all Dean's said so far."

"Yeah," Josef agreed with him. "How about I meet them?"

Mick blinked. "Um. What?" he asked stupidly. Josef rarely asked to meet anyone. If he wanted to meet someone, he just went and did it. That was what it was like to have money, though. And being a four-hundred-year-old vampire helped.

"Well, you met them, obviously. Why can't I?"

"Why do you want to?" Mick narrowed his eyes suspiciously. If Josef was wanting to meet them, then what did that mean? Did that mean Mick was right in his gut feeling and this was all wrong? It was rare that Josef took an interest in people who weren't vampires.

"What, I can't meet the hunters surrounding Deano?"

Mick rolled his eyes. "I did tell you we were leaving, right? So there's not really time for that. We're on a schedule."

"I can meet up with you somewhere."

"…That's okay. I know you're busy," Mick said, glancing again at the hotel. "Besides, maybe it's best if no one knows where we are."

"So I can't know?"

"Uh…it would probably be best. Just in case."

"What, you think I'm going to tell someone?"

"No," Mick said quickly, because he didn't think that at all. He trusted Josef, after all. They were friends. "Look, just…it's complicated, okay? Let things work themselves out for now, and then we'll talk about meetings and whatnot."

"Uh huh. Dean back yet?" Josef seemed to be able to read his mind. That was more than a little creepy, as Dean would say.

"Not yet. I'm sure everything is fine."

"Really?"

"Um…yeah." He sighed heavily. He was there for back up if Dean needed it, after all. Dean only had to send something to him through their bond and he'd be there. Since everything seemed fine through the bond at the moment, he was sure everything was okay…right? So why did he have that dark feeling in the pit of his stomach? The quicker they were out of LA, the better, he decided.

"Right…well, I have some paperwork I need to get to work on, but call me if you need anything," Josef told him.

"Alright," Mick agreed. "Talk to you later, Josef." He hung up and pocketed his phone with a sigh as he glanced once again toward the hotel entrance. It was still empty. The hot sun was beating down on the car and though the vehicle did offer Mick a bit of shade, it was still an unpleasant feeling, being surrounded by all of this heat and getting the glare of the sun reflected off the other parked vehicles. He squirmed a bit in his seat, releasing a heavy, drawn-out sigh despite the fact that he didn't need to breathe. It was still nice to feel normal, after all.

He hoped Dean hurried up. That uneasy feeling in his stomach was growing.

Dean knew his father wasn't happy about having to sign a paper stating he wouldn't try anything, but it was for Dean's peace of mind. Or, at least, that was how Sammy had apparently explained it to their father. "We owe it to him," Sam had said, and John had gone tight-lipped and finally reached for a pen. Sammy had written up a brilliant paper underlining John's vow and his restrictions, for which Dean was happy. It meant his brother really was with him on this, and it had been so long since he and Sammy had been on the same side for anything. It was…refreshing, to say the least.

John signed his name on the paper, agreeing to Sam's rules, and Dean smiled at his father as their eyes met as John put the pen down on the table that separated them. For a long moment, nothing was spoken. For the first time in a long time, there seemed to be a comfortable silence between the three family members, and Dean felt his undead heart swell at the thought. Sammy broke the moment with his big goofy grin and the three started chuckling.

"I missed this," Dean admitted with a sheepish grin as he watched them. John nodded and stood, walking toward Dean. He clapped his son on the shoulder warmly.

"I think we all did," John told him, and Sam nodded in quick agreement.

For the moment, the Winchesters were a family again. Dean wanted to keep it like this for as long as possible, because he knew things would be over when - not if - John found out Dean was part of the undead, a bloodsucking vampire. Not to mention the fact that he had been killed prior to being turned, and that being turned was a complete accident. John would only say that it was Dean's fault he hadn't been on guard, and maybe it was. But, damn it, Mick was fast when he was starving for blood. Even as a vampire now himself, sometimes Dean had a hard time keeping up with his sire, and here he'd thought that, as a hunter, he'd been in shape. Pah!

But Dean really didn't want to think about that right now. He just wanted to enjoy the moment, here with his family.

The only thing that could have made it perfect was if his vampire family was here as well, Mick and Josef, and they were accepted as family. Because, to Dean, they were family. For four years, it had just been him, Mick, and Josef, and maybe occasionally Logan but Logan hated leaving his beloved basement. Now Dean felt as though he might have to pick between his two families, and he didn't like that thought at all. He hated it. How could he choose between family?

It probably wouldn't matter, though, because the moment John found out he was a vampire, it was goodbye Dean.

Dean felt his smile waver and caught himself, quickly shoving those morbid thoughts away yet again. They just kept coming back like a damn virus. They wouldn't leave him the hell alone. "Well," he finally sighed, "I guess I should be going. Mick's probably getting pissy." He could feel his sire's annoyance and worry through their bond. But it wasn't like he was going to tell Sam and John about that, at least not yet. Maybe never, if he could help it. Sam might accept it and just call him a girl, but John was another matter entirely.

"Do you have to?" Sam's face fell.

Dean held back a wince at the puppy dog look. Fight against it, he told himself. You'd think you'd be over this by now! You've had Alex giving it to you, and his puppy dog face is more puppy-ish! C'mon! He smiled at his brother and father. "Sorry, but we have to go pick up Alex and get on the road. I'll call you later and let you know where we're heading, okay? And then when you're ready, you can come too."

Sam sighed and nodded, seemingly seeing that Dean's mind was made up. "Okay," he said quietly. "Just…don't disappear again, okay?"

Dean frowned as John nodded at Sam's words. "I won't," he promised. And Dean Winchester never broke his promises if he could help it. He tossed them another smile and turned, heading toward the hotel room door. "See ya later, guys." And then he left.

Mick was glaring at him as he got back in the car. "Took you long enough."

Dean rolled his eyes. "Aw, is wittle Micky jealous?"

Mick scowled. "Don't call me that, and no. Just…" He paused. "I have a bad feeling about all of this."

Dean sighed. "They're my family. And Dad signed the paper, so I think we're good to go."

Mick sighed and nodded slowly. "Fine," he grunted. "Can we just go now? Josef called. Vampires are looking for us."

"Us?" Dean asked. "Or me?"

Mick didn't bother answering. They both knew the answer.

Alex looked happy in the backseat. His expression was one of excitement and joy as he looked out the window at the passing scenery. Dean smirked to himself when he glanced at the kid in the rearview mirror. Mick was sitting next to Dean in the passenger seat, looking indifferent as he, too, looked out the window. Rain pelted the car, shiny tendrils of water dripping carelessly down the windshield as they drove. The Impala handled great in the weather, just as Dean remembered. It was great to be riding his baby again. She purred as she flew down the highway at nearly eighty-miles-per-hour.

"Excited?" Dean couldn't resist asking the eight-year-old.

Alex caught his eye in the rearview mirror. "Yeah!"

Dean chuckled at his genuine enthusiasm. He doubted the kid really even knew the meaning of sarcasm, let alone how to really use it properly. "Well, I'll try to make this trip live up to expectations, then."

Alex just smiled at him.

Dean thought that maybe this trip would be good for the kid, get him out of the city and away from the memories of his parents. It wouldn't stop the memories, really, or even really dim the pain, but maybe it would be a nice distraction. He hated to see the kid hurting. But Alex seemed upbeat today, and happy, and Dean was glad to see it.

They were going to drive for about four hours and then stop around six in the evening in the nearest hotel to where they were at the time. They would order pizza to the hotel and eat and then stay there the night, and continue driving after breakfast in the morning.

Mick was still quiet. Dean knew Josef and Mick had talked but he wasn't sure what they discussed. Mick had only told him about the vampires and nothing else. He had been oddly quiet today, though, and it was beginning to make Dean uneasy. A quiet Mick, while sometimes appreciated when Dean had a headache or was just grumpy in general and didn't want to talk, was never really a good thing. Comfortable silences between them were frequent, but that didn't mean he enjoyed the silence that much.

"Everything okay?" Dean asked his sire.

Mick grunted in response.

Hope it sounds okay! :D Thanks for reading and please review! Also, any suggestions you have for this story, I will take into consideration. Thanks again!

~Muffy the Dough Slayer~