"Sorry, the bus didn't make it again. I guess the county hasn't cleared all the roads yet," Ralph said. He'd resumed his position behind the counter, giving Bobby an excuse to resume his work in the garage. "If it wasn't for the storms I would have had your car up and running on time. Honest."

"Yeah, I know. Okay. I guess I'll have to make arrangements to come back for it. We really are in a hurry," Nick stated. He had to struggle to keep the defeat from his voice. It wasn't the man's fault. It just was what it was. Nick left behind his cell phone number and the number at San Francisco house.

"Give me a call when it's done. I'll get here as soon as I can to pick it up," Nick said. He cast a glance as his sad looking Mustang out on the front parking lot. It nearly broke his heart to leave it behind but they needed to get Sam home. There Alex and Derek would create an antivenin to help heal the man. Quickly he made his way over to the Impala. The sooner they left the better.

"Were you able to get hold of Alex and Rachel?" the security chief asked as he slid into the back seat. Dean was torn between making sure Derek drove his baby properly and being able to tend his brother. His own weariness made the decision for him. He'd allowed Nick to take position with Sam.

"Yes. They were very relieved to hear that we are on our way home. Apparently we were missed by more than just Legacy members," Derek replied cryptically.

"Great," Nick responded. He glanced over at his companion to find that Sam appeared to be sound asleep. Nick wasn't sure whether he should be relieved that they finally figured out what was wrong with him or scared to death because of the implications.

Sam was resting his head against the window. His hands were drawn up into his arm pits as if he was cold and his legs were drawn up as well. All in all the six foot plus young man looked very small. Nick could make out a thin sheen of sweat on Sam's pale face. His long brown bangs hid most of his eyes but Nick was convinced the man was asleep and not just pretending.

Derek started the car up, put it in gear and pulled out onto the street. Soon the tires were humming along on the highway, quickly eating up the miles. Nick pulled a blanket out and threw it over Sam. Then he settled in to get a little sleep himself.

The rest of the day passed quietly. The group only stopped on occasion to fuel up, get some food or take a break to stretch kinked muscles. Derek was pleased with the distance they covered but knew they weren't going to make it all the way back in one day. Grudgingly he started looking for a hotel or motel along the highway they were following. His three charges had slept most of the day. That didn't bother Derek. He quite enjoyed driving, especially in such a well tuned machine. Besides, he figured that was probably what they needed.

The first three motels they passed were a little too run down for Derek's tastes. One thing working for the Legacy was that you quickly got used to some of the finer things in life. It was all a part of never having to worry about money or the budget for what they did. Glancing at Dean who was still sleeping soundly beside him, Derek took in the condition of his jeans, t-shirt and leather jacket. Either it was the latest fashion craze or Dean's clothes were well worn. There were places along the seams of his jeans were the threads were wearing away. Derek was impressed to notice though, that despite their state of disrepair, his clothes were clean.

"What are you staring at, dude?" Dean growled. His head had been leaning against the window but Derek saw him glaring at him out of the corner of his left eye.

"Sorry," Derek muttered. A slight blush coloured his features at having been caught staring. Quickly, he turned his attention back to the road. They were just passing another motel. Derek dismissed it out of hand.

"What was wrong with that place?" Dean asked. He'd been watching. The last four places had been perfect. He and Sam preferred a place with a low profile and a place to hide the Impala along the side. And the price would have probably been right.

Derek didn't even bother to reply to the question. The precept doubted that the bed spreads at that motel were probably never washed. The very thought disgusted him.

"Derek, the place doesn't have to be a five star hotel," Nick stated from the back seat. He was ready to get out of the car. He had a terrible urge to go for a job but doubted his leg would appreciate it much. A nice hot shower would be nice though.

"I would prefer that it at least had three stars," Derek grumbled. Since he was driving, he figured it was his prerogative to decide where they stayed.

"You sound like a snob," Nick stated trying to hide the grin that came to his lips. Until now he hadn't realized just how spoiled the two of them had become.

"I am not a snob!" Derek growled. However, with his accent the effect was ruined. Nick couldn't help but laugh. Rachel and Alex were never going to let him live this one down.

The conversation was pre-empted by a shrill ringing emanating from Derek's pocket. The precept pulled over to the side of the road while he tried to fish his cell out of his shirt pocket. They wound up parked in front a less than reputable looking liquor store.

"Hello?" Derek said once he got the cell out and open. He was silent for several moments while he listened to the female voice on the other end. "Where do they want to meet?"

The conversation continued for a few more minutes. Then Derek turned to the other people in the car. "The military thing they've found the person who conjured the demons. They're asking for our help," he informed them.

"No problem. We'll just rush on out to wherever they expect us to go," Dean growled. He really had no intentions of getting involved with the military men again. He and Sam had dodged the bullet of being identified by them once. He wasn't going to try for a second time.

"They know the man's identity but they haven't located him yet. Alex said they would call when they had," Derek stated. He wasn't very thrilled at the prospect either.

"Great," Dean grumbled as he settled back against the door. Hopefully the man would never call back.

"I'm ready for supper, Derek. Can we please find someplace to stay?" Nick asked.

Well, the hotel they finally decided on was somewhere between Dean and Derek's expectations. Weary beyond words, Sam had stayed carefully neutral during the process. He was very much like Nick. He just wanted a meal, a shower and a soft bed. The four of them had pulled a duffel bag each from the back of the Impala before heading into the reception area of the hotel.

"Good evening," the young man standing behind the counter responded as they came up to it. "How many rooms will you be needing this evening?"

Derek didn't even bother to ask. He had no intentions of sharing a bed but he knew that Nick was going to want to keep an eye on the brothers. Even though, Dean was showing signs of coming around. It amused the hell out of him to see his security chief so paternal.

"Do you have a suite available? We'd like four beds if possible but three would do," Derek replied as he pulled his Legacy credit card out of his wallet.

Sam and Dean exchanged a glance but remained mute. If Derek wanted to pay for it who were they to argue? Besides, Dean was a little hesitant to pull out one of his fraudulent credit cards in front of the two men. The credit cards were a means to an end but for the first time he was a little ashamed of needing to use them.

"Certainly, sir. We have one suite left. How long will you be staying?" the clerk asked as he pulled the paperwork out. He tried to not show any surprise on his face. Looking at the well dressed older man, the casually dressed shorter man and the thread-bare appearance of the other two, all kinds of thoughts played through his mind. At least they hadn't asked for two beds. The clerk wasn't sure he'd have been able to keep a straight face. It wouldn't be the first time the hotel was used by male prostitutes but he chose not to think about it.

"Just for tonight," Derek replied. "We will need a wakeup call at seven am. Is room service still available?" It wasn't particularly late. He just wanted to make sure. From the looks of his three companions, they weren't going too far once they finally got into the room.

"Room service is available until two am, sir. If you could sign here and fill out the relevant information," the clerk said as he slid the paperwork across the counter and laid a pen on top of it. In exchange, Derek placed his credit card down.

Standing with the brothers, Nick found it very hard to not shift around in irritation. Why did this always have to take so long?

After what felt like an eternity, the clerk slid over a paper folder containing their magnetic cards over to Derek. "Enjoy your stay," he said.

"Thank you," Derek replied as he picked up the folder and led the way toward the elevator.

"Now you know why we stay at the seedier places," Derek grinned. "They ask a lot less questions."

The suite was quite nice. It had a bedroom with three beds and a sitting room with a fold out couch. Exhausted, Dean collapsed onto the couch and reached for the remote control. It seemed like a long time since he'd be able to sit and veg in front of a TV set.

"I'm going to take a shower," Sam muttered. He was exhausted and didn't really feel like taking the time but to be honest, he'd begun to smell. Shuffling toward the bathroom, the youngest Winchester prepared to find the energy somewhere.

"Don't use up all the hot water," Nick chided him. He made a mental note to check on him in ten minutes, just in case he fell asleep under the warm water.

" 'Kay," was Sam's response as he closed the bathroom door.

Derek found the room service menu and began to flip through it as he sank down on top of one of the beds. The sooner they ate, the sooner they could go to sleep. He really hoped to be out of the room by eight o'clock in the morning.

Wearily Sam stripped off his clothes. He had to take the bandages off his shoulders because he'd spied that they were dirty in the mirror. Damn. By now he'd hoped that the wounds would have stopped weeping and would have begun healing. No such luck. Another strike against his tainted blood. Sighing, he turned the water on and waited for the temperature to adjust.

The last thing he really felt like doing at the moment was taking a shower. As much as he hated to admit it, the beds outside looked all too inviting. Stepping into the bath tub, Sam stood facing the shower head for a few minutes before building up the energy to start cleaning his aching body. The water felt amazingly good running over his head and then trickling down his shoulders. Sighing again, Sam caught up the shampoo and rubbed it into his now wet hair. The steam from the hot water was filling the air. For a few moments while he scrubbed at his scalp, Sam felt more alive and awake than he had in quite some time.

Satisfied his hair was as clean as it was going to get, Sam rinsed the shampoo out of his hair. Then he turned his attention to the soap. Without thinking, he turned his back toward the shower head while he lathered up his chest and stomach. The instant the hot water hit the wounds on his shoulders pain spiked through Sam's system, nearly sending him to his knees. Gasping against the pain, Sam staggered away from the stream of water and sank at the end of the tub. Damn he hated this.

It took him nearly five minutes to recover enough to finish rinsing the soap off his skin. Sam's shoulders were still sparking like fireworks as he turned the water off. Feeling even more exhausted, Sam carefully stepped out of the tub and just as carefully dried himself off. As much as he was going to hate this, he was going to have to ask Nick or Derek to replace the bandages. Otherwise he was going to just mess up his shirt. Damn he hated this.