On the Road Again
The road stretched out before Dean, black asphalt gleaming in the morning sun. The road was smooth, no dents or potholes. The yellow lines flicked past, blurring together as the Impala carried them forward. Dean had driven almost every day of his life. He could only remember a handful of times he had gone from sunrise to sunset without spending some time in his Baby. He knew the road, and he knew his car. They had grown up and hit middle-age together, and there was nothing they had not been through.
So Dean had thought until today. Today, the road felt different. Cars whipped by them, more ad more as the road moved closer toward the city. This was no back road or country drive. This was the interstate, something Dean avoided whenever possible.
Unfortunately, it was the best route to Bowling Green, the place where Gwen would spend the next four years of her life attending college. Dean looked into the rearview mirror, but he could not see Gwen there. Only stacks of stuff: furniture, books, boxes of clothes and stereo equipment. Dean switched his gaze to the side mirror.
Gwen was right behind them, where she had promised to stay, cruising on her bike with Mary perched at her back.
The Winchester women. It still amazed Dean that they were there at all.
The Impala was loaded down to the max, straining the struts and forcing Dean to keep her at a low speed. She couldn't maneuver. She didn't need to maneuver. There was no danger here. There had been no danger for the past three months.
The past three months had been a whirlwind of new sights, new people, and raw emotions. Gwen had nearly broken down on them once. So had Mom. So had Baby. For a little while, Dean wondered if he would loose one or both of them. Not to death, but to the grief and guilt they both carried. But they had pulled through, helped each other, and come out with a bond that wasn't going to break easy.
The Winchesters were a family again, and they were about to part ways.
"Dean!" Sam reached for the steering wheel, and Dean batted his hand away. A bright orange U-Haul honked loudly, narrowly missing their bumper.
"I see it!"
"Keep your eyes on the traffic!"
"I don't like traffic! This is why we don't take the interstate."
"This is where the map says to go." Sam held up his computer screen. Dean refused to look.
"You want my eyes on the traffic?"
"Just, don't miss our turn."
Honk! Honk! Gwen's bike darted in front of them with a bold toot on her horn. Mary waved, laughing as they passed the lumbering Chevy.
"Where is she going?" Dean growled. The bike slipped through gaps in traffic where the Impala couldn't even try to follow, and disappeared down the exit ramp.
"She's going to get the keys to her room so that when he finally get there, we'll be ready to unload.." Sam pulled a protein bar from his road food stash and slapped it into Dean's hand. "What's got you crabby?"
"Nothing." Dean set the protein bar aside to focus on college move-in-day traffic.
College. Gwen was going to college. It was what they all wanted from the start. But the idea of college came with memories Dean hated. Memories of a dark night, a fierce fight, and sitting alone for the first time in his life wondering if he would ever see his brother or his father again.
Sam had hitchhiked his way to California alone, and he couldn't be happier to deliver his own daughter safely to her apartment door. But once the car was unloaded and the day was done, Dean would drive away alone.
No, not alone. His brother would be with him. And Gwen wouldn't be alone either. Mary was going to stay with her. The money they had earned from the sale of the antique records in the bunker meant that neither Gwen nor Mary would have to work. Gwen could enjoy college, and Mary had a second chance at being normal.
Gwen was waiting for them at the curb. The sign posted said No Parking in big red letters, but cars up and down the street were stopped with their emergency flashers on. Apparently, college move-in-day meant most traffic rules were suspended.
It didn't take long to unload the Impala. Within an hour Gwen and Mary stood in their new kitchen surrounded by boxes. Then there were trips to Wal-Mart for last-minute items like light bulbs and curtains. Sam wanted a tour of the campus, and helped Gwen find her first set of text books. They shouldered their way into a crowded bar to wrestle a few burgers from a harried wait staff, and then it was over.
Move-in was done. Their job was over. Dean stood on the curb next to his brother, ready to say good-bye.
The last time a Winchester had gone to college, they hadn't spoken for three years. Dean let the thought slide away. This time, things were going to be different.
"Call when you get home," Mary said. "So I know you made it."
"What, am I sixteen?" Dean asked. No one had told him to call when he got home before.
"Just do it." Mary's tone was firm. "Or I'll send the Lebanon police to check on you."
"Yes, ma'am."
"You'll be here for Thanksgiving." Gwen said.
"Yes."
"And Jody's for Christmas," Sam added. "She insisted."
There were hugs, there may have been a tear or two, and then Dean was driving back out of town. There was no traffic, and the Impala felt feather-light under the wheel.
Back on the road. Back to the hunt. He had his brother at his side. Everything was the same as it had always been.
Yet everything was different.
Dean smiled and settled in for the drive.
END
I hope you enjoyed the story. Thank you for reading. Don't forget to review!
