We were on the road again as soon as we'd finished eating lunch, which was thankfully not awkward after Taylor and Dean discussed where they stood.

In fact she chose to go in the impala with Dean for the next part of the drive. I was glad they'd worked it out amicably. It would have been an uncomfortable meal if they hadn't. Not to mention the couple hours more we still had to drive before we met her friends.

At least she had friends who were willing to meet us half way. I wasn't going to complain, but I was already thoroughly over squashing myself into such a small space. I couldn't wait to get back into the impala and stretch out a little.

I was also relieved that Taylor was coping so well with her injuries. We'd given her another dose of painkillers after lunch, knowing that even if she wasn't saying anything, they would be hurting by then.

I hoped her friends would be happy to help her with those too. I wasn't sure how much she'd told them when she asked them to pick her up. Obviously she had to have told them something to explain why she needed to be picked up, but I suspected she wouldn't have told them the extent of her injuries over the phone…I wouldn't have.

When we reached the roadside rest stop, which we had chosen as the halfway point to meet her friends, another car was pulling in at the same time. Judging by the frantic waving being done by the passenger, we'd timed it perfectly.

As soon as all three cars were stopped a young man and a young woman jumped out and ran over to the impala. Taylor had got out and met them part way. The two of them engulfed her in a group hug.

I opened my door and wandered over to Dean, giving Taylor and her friends a moment.

The two of us stood, leaning against Baby, listening to the two friends fussing over Taylor.

"Oh my God! I mean, you told me you couldn't drive but…look at you! What did they do to you!?" Her female friend continued to fuss, while Taylor responded in a quieter voice, too quiet to carry over to us.

The young guy broke away, giving Taylor a pat on the shoulder before heading towards us.

"Hi. I'm Tom." He held out his hand, and I shook it. "That's Jil, Taylor's housemate." He added, shaking Dean's hand as well.

"Sam." I introduced myself, "And my brother, Dean."

"I just, wanted to say thank you. Taylor hasn't told us everything that's gone on the past couple of days, but from what she was told us…you guys went above and beyond to help her out." He shrugged, "You don't see that much in law enforcement nowadays. So, seriously, thank you."

I smiled at him. "No problem, we were happy to help."

The three of us turned to look at Taylor and Jil, who both looked a bit teary.

"She's been through a lot." Dean told him gently, "I'm glad she's got you both to help support her."

Tom nodded, "We'll do whatever she needs." He looked at us, "Is there anything I should know?"

Dean and I glanced at each other. "Well," I said, "Her wounds are going to need to be kept clean, and monitored for infection." Tom nodded seriously. "We'll give her some pain pills to take, but if you have any concerns, take her to see a doctor. The wounds are deep, an infection could get pretty bad."

Tom frowned, swallowing several times, clearly trying to keep his emotions under control. "You took care of the people who did this to her?" He asked after a moment.

Dean and I both nodded. "Yes." Dean said, "They can't hurt her, or anyone else, ever again."

Tom nodded, "Good. Can you…tell me what exactly happened?"

I sighed, "I could…but I think it's better if she tells you in her own time."

He frowned, then nodded, "Yeah, ok."

"When she does…" I started, glancing at Taylor, "Whatever she chooses to tell you…trust her, ok?"

Tom looked at me curiously, but nodded, "Ok. Guess you're not going to elaborate?"

I shook my head. He shrugged.

Taylor and Jil finally approached us. "Sam, Dean, this is my housemate, Jil."

We both shook her hand, too. "Nice to meet you." I told her.

"You too," She smiled, and I noticed she focused a little more on Dean. I fought the urge to grin, clearly they'd already been gossiping. I supposed it was easier to talk about than the more serious aspects of the past couple of days. "Thank you for taking care of Tay."

"You're welcome." I smiled.

"So…" Tom said, "I guess we'd better get heading home…"

Taylor nodded, "Sure. Just…give us a minute?"

Tom and Jil nodded, moving over to Taylor's car, getting the driver's seat set up for a much smaller driver.

"Looks like you have some really good friends there." I smiled.

Taylor nodded, smiling over towards them. "Yeah, they're good people." She looked back at us. "Thank you so much for…everything."

She gave us both a hug, then looked around a little. "I…don't suppose Cas is going to drop in?"

Dean shook his head, "Bit hard to explain…" He nodded towards Tom and Jil.

She nodded, "Guess so…still, I wanted to thank him too."

Dean smiled, "Don't worry, I will be sure to pass on the message."

She nodded, "Ok, thanks."

Dean pulled a bottle of pills out of his pocket and passed them to Taylor. "No more than two every six hours, ok?" She nodded.

I pulled a card out of my pocket and wrote down a few numbers before passing it over to her. "This has got both of our phone numbers, as well as a friend of ours, Jody. You can talk to her about what really happened if you need to."

She took the card and held onto it firmly. "Thank you."

"Call us if you need anything, even if you just want to talk, ok?" I told her and she nodded.

She sighed, and gave us both another hug. "And you both feel free to drop in anytime, ok?" We both nodded. "And the offer still stands…" She winked at Dean.

I grinned, shaking my head a little. Dean smirked.

"See you later, Taylor." He smiled.

"Bye Taylor." I gave her a little wave.

She grinned and waved back. "Till next time."

We watched as she got settled into the passenger seat of her car and the three of them headed out of the rest area and headed back the way her friends had come.

Once the two cars had disappeared from sight I turned to Dean. "So, where are we going from here?"

"I reckon we're overdue for a visit to Bobby's." Dean commented.

I grinned, "Sounds good to me."

Dean hesitated at the driver's door, then sighed and handed me the keys, moving to the other side of the car. "Not a word." He warned.

I grinned, climbing into the driver's seat. "Not a word." I confirmed, pulling out and heading off down the road, happy to be sitting beside my brother again. Our lives may not be perfect. But at least we had each other.

The End.


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