A/N: And we move on to the next letter in this assortment of short stories. I hope you have been enjoying the array of creatures that the boys ran across at different times in their lives. Thank you for taking theisjourney with me as we're nearing the end of it. Reviews would be great. NC


T & U

Part I

Sam walked up the stairs to the second floor and strolled down the hall to the end. He stopped between two doors and looked toward the bathroom but didn't see his brother. He turned to their bedroom and looked in seeing a mound still in his brother's bed. He stepped into the room and to the foot of the bed.

"Hey, you getting up today?" he asked his brother who was buried under the covers. He saw movement for a moment and spoke again. "Dean, it's almost noon…" Sam trailed off not sure what to do for his brother. Their father had sacrificed his life to save Dean and he still hadn't been able to deal with that even after the time that had passed. He would still wake Sam up at night crying out and fighting some unknown foe. He would try to comfort him, but Dean wouldn't have it.

"Go 'ay," a mumbled voice answered him from under the covers.

"Look man, all you've been doing since…Dad died is work on the Impala and stay in bed. You hardly eat, you don't sleep, you're drinking way too much, and you won't talk to me…" Sam's voice cracked and hitched at the end as he fought to control the raw emotions flooding his mind. "You're not the only one who's hurting. I lost Dad too, but you can't stop living. You've got to go on and make Dad proud of you. He gave you a second chance at life, don't throw it away," Sam preached to him. He was told almost the same thing from Bobby when he wanted to give up and decided to pass the wisdom along to his brother. "Look, I'm making some lunch. Why don't you get a shower and join me? Bobby had to go out on a tow job and won't be back until later." Sam sighed when Dean didn't answer and turned to head back downstairs. He didn't know how to reach his brother and get him out of this funk.

The house was quiet as Sam made sandwiches, lost in his thoughts until he heard footsteps coming down the stairs and smiled to himself. He watched as Dean trudged into the room, his hair still damp from a shower. Sam thought at least it was a start. If he could motivate Dean, maybe he would start acting like himself again.

"I've got sandwiches and chips, you want coffee, tea, or water to drink?" Sam asked him as Dean pulled a chair out and sat down.

"Coffee," Dean mumbled looking down at the plate Sam sat in front of him. He drew in a slow breath, knowing he needed to eat. What he was doing to himself was not helping anyone and hurting those around him.

Sam sat down beside Dean and put a cup of coffee within his reach. He picked up his sandwich and began to eat, trying not to seem so nervous knowing Dean would pick up on it. He watched out of the corner of his eye as Dean finally started to eat his sandwich. Sam took another bite and washed it down with some water before speaking.

"How's it coming on the Impala?"

Dean glanced at him for a moment and continued to chew the food in his mouth. Once he had swallowed, he wet his lips and answered. "Slow, need a few more parts."

"Anything I can do to help?"

Dean looked up at him with a frown that he would even ask. He knew Sam was not mechanically inclined and barely knew how to change the oil in a car. But something broke off inside of him and he realized he should have been showing Sam how to do things on the car because one day, and it might be sooner rather than later, he wasn't going to be here, and the car would be his. Once he had his Baby up and running again, he was going to do that.

"Naw, still banging out the dents and straightening metal right now."

"If you want help all you have to do is ask."

"Thanks," Dean mumbled and went back to eating his sandwich.

Sam remained silent not sure what else he could say at the moment. He didn't want Dean to shut him out again like he had been. He would let him decide when he wanted to talk and be there to listen. They finished the meal and Dean went out to the garage to work on the Impala and Sam grabbed his laptop to see if there were any possible hunts. He thought getting Dean back in the game would be the push he needed.

spn

It was late afternoon when Sam strolled into the garage to find Bobby and Dean working on the Impala. He stood to the side and waited for them to notice him.

"Sam," Bobby said when he saw him standing in the doorway.

"Hey, I brought you guys something to drink," Sam offered holding up a water and a cup of coffee.

"Thanks son," Bobby acknowledged taking the cup and looking at Dean who grunted something when Sam sat the water within his reach. He looked at Sam's fallen face and knew the boy was hurting, both of them were, but there wasn't much he could do about it.

"Ummm…I was looking online, and I might have found a case," Sam started glancing at Bobby and back to Dean. "If I could borrow a vehicle Bobby, I thought I'd go check it out."

Dean froze and looked at Sam with a scowl on his face. He let his mind process what Sam had said before answering.

"You're not going on a hunt alone," he stated sternly.

Sam stiffened and stood his full height as he looked at his brother.

"Why not? I'm an adult and trained just as good as you are. The monsters aren't going to stop killing people just because we were sidelined for a while."

"I'm not letting you do this alone, we'll leave in the morning," Dean stated before turning back to what he was doing on the car.

Bobby looked hard at Sam and saw the twinkle in his eyes and the almost smirk on his face before he turned away. He knew Dean had just been played by his little brother. He had to give the boy credit, the need to protect Sam, won out over his misery and grief. Sam had thought this out and executed it without a flaw. He had to give him an A plus on this sneaky move.

"I'm going to check the weapon's bag and pack," Sam said. He turned to head back to the house, feeling Bobby's gaze on him and darted his eyes his way giving him a smirky smile.

"You got something we can drive?" Dean asked with a huff, none the wiser what his brother had done.

spn

The beat-up Chevy wasn't much to look at, but the engine ran smoothly after Bobby had worked his magic. Dean wasn't happy to be leaving his Baby behind, but he didn't have her running yet, so he had to madk the best of it. He looked over at his brother who was looking at an atlas to be sure they were taking the quickest route to Winslow, Arizona.

Sam had filled him in last night after dinner about some articles he had found online. People were disappearing from the town. And it wasn't just towns folk, visitors were going missing too. One eyewitness says it was a monster that took his friend. All he could tell the locals was it looked like a snake, a huge snake. The cops figured he was seeing things since him and his friend had been smoking weed right before it happened. Sam wasn't sure this was a case, but something was happening in that town.

This was the first hunt they had taken since their father died and Dean hated to admit it, but it felt good to be on the road again, but he missed his Baby. The traffic was light and moving at a good pace and the weather was cooperating with clear, blue skies for their travels.

"Why don't we break the driving up, you drive for five hours and then I'll take over and do the same before stopping for the night?" Sam asked looking up at his brother. "No need to wear ourselves out getting there."

"Sure, why not," Dean replied his voice dull and monotone.

"Alright," Sam said. He ignored his brother's indifference and did some mapping before finding a place to stop for the night. "It's going on two now, why don't you let me drive when you stop next for gas? By the time I drive about the five hours, that'll put us near some decent towns to find a motel for the night."

Dean grunted and glanced at the gas gauge seeing he would need to stop for gas soon anyway. He'd let his brother take point on this one but be ready to step in if needed. It was almost an hour before Dean pulled off the interstate to get gas and swap out driving.

As soon as he stopped, Sam got out and headed inside to find the restrooms and grab something to drink. Dean filled the car and moved it to a parking spot before following his brother inside. He passed him at the front and tossed the car keys to him while heading to the back to the restrooms.

Sam was sort of surprised at how easy Dean gave up driving, but he thought maybe it was because this wasn't his Baby and he didn't care who drove it. He went on out with his purchases and settled into the driver's seat to wait on Dean. It wasn't long before he came out with a drink and pie in hand. Once he got situated in the passenger seat, Sam started the car and headed back to the interstate to continue their journey. He was at least happy the radio worked so there wouldn't be total silence inside the car. He left it on the station Dean had found since it played what he liked too.

spn

Darkness had caught up with them, and Sam decided to drive a little farther since he didn't feel tired. He looked over at his brother and saw he was still sleeping and had been for the past hour since their last stop for gas. He wouldn't need to stop again for gas and wanted to get that much closer to Winslow. He fiddled with the radio to find another station since they lost the last one, finally finding one he liked. He heard Dean snort softly in his sleep as he shifted positions against the side door. He focused his attention back on the road and drummed his fingers to the beat of the music.

Sam yawned and glanced at his watch deciding it was time to stop. He started looking for a decent motel that would be in their price range as he passed the information signs. It wasn't long before he found one and signaled to change lanes and exit the interstate.

The change in the motion of the car had Dean grunting and sitting up looking around with sleep filled eyes. He rubbed a hand down his face and shook himself enough to wake up.

"Where are we?" he asked seeing Sam had pulled off the main road and was heading toward a motel.

"I'm stopping for the night," Sam told him pulling up to the building marked office and stopping. "You want to get us a room, or should I?"

"I'll go," Dean grunted sitting up straighter. He got out and headed for the door leading to the office and disappeared inside.

Sam rolled his shoulders and sighed with weariness. He probably should have stopped sooner but he was in the groove and knew the faster they got to Winslow, the sooner they could see if this was a case for them or not. He looked up when Dean came out and motioned him to follow with the car. He walked around the building to the back where the rooms were. Sam started the car and eased around the corner after Dean, stopping in a space in front of a room he was opening the door to. He cut the engine and got out to open the trunk and get their bags.

Dean held the door for Sam and let it close behind them. Sam sat their bags on the beds and looked around for a moment before looking to Dean.

"I'm gonna walk down to the convenience store and grab a six pack," Dean told him pocketing the key and moving back to the door.

"You sure?" Sam asked.

"Yeah, I slept on the drive." Dean opened the door before Sam could say anything else and closed it behind him.

Sam stood there staring at the closed door as his shoulders slumped knowing there was no use going after him, he would be back when he was ready. He didn't like that Dean's drinking had increased, but there wasn't much he could do to stop it, other than have a physical alteration, which he didn't want. Deciding a shower could wait until the morning, Sam grabbed his bathroom bag and stepped into the bathroom to get ready for bed. He came out and stripped down to his briefs and tee shirt before crawling into bed, leaving a lamp on for Dean.

spn

Dean walked away from the room wanting to be by himself for a while. He looked around for a moment before heading to the road and down to the lights of the convenience store. The air was cool, but comfortable and the jacket felt good as he shoved his hands into the pockets glancing up at the night sky. It was too bright to see the stars from where he was at. He stepped into the store and looked around to find the cooler section where the beer was kept. After looking over the selection and grabbing a six pack, Dean headed for the cash register to pay and leave.

There was a small area with picnic tables and little grills off to the side of the of the motel that Dean decided to check out before going back inside. He was sure Sam had gone to bed and wanted to drink in peace without getting a lecture from him. Dean sat at one of the tables and opened a bottle of beer to take a long swallow while looking up at the stars sparkling brightly in the ebony sky. He zoned out and lost track of time, until five beers later the wail of a siren jogged him from his trance. Dean looked at the empty bottles sitting on the table wondering how he drunk them without even knowing it. Deciding it was a good time to head back to the room, he tossed the empties in a recycle bin and carried the one undrunk one back to the room.

The room was dimly lit by a single lamp and Sam was softly snoring in his bed. Dean slipped quietly into the room and headed for the bathroom to get ready for bed. He never saw Sam jerk and raise his head to see him step into the bathroom before turning over and going back to sleep. The beers gave him a slight buzz, but he was far from drunk as he took off his clothes and climbed into bed. He got comfortable and hoped sleep would come quickly since the beer had mellowed him.

The painful moan and cry had Sam sitting up in his bed and reaching for the gun under his pillow. He looked around trying to surmise what was going on and realized the sounds were coming from his brother's bed. He threw back the covers and got out of bed, moving to the other one.

"Dean, hey man wake up," Sam called to him shaking his shoulder and moving back from the flaying arms. He could barely make out a few words, 'no and Dad' and knew Dean must be having another nightmare about their father. When Sam saw that didn't pull him from the dream, he tried again. "It's okay bro, come back…" Sam leaned close enough to cup his face in one of his hands while squeezing his shoulder with the other.

Dean opened his eyes staring through Sam and not seeing him. He mumbled something and rolled to his side snorting once before his breathing even out and he was asleep again.

Sam looked down at him and sighed heavily thinking Dean had gotten past the nightmares that had plagued him the first few weeks after their father's death. He knew Dean wouldn't remember having the nightmare since he never really woke up and wasn't going to tell him about it. Once he saw his brother had settled back down, he went back to bed and lay there trying to go back to sleep himself. He listened to the nasally breathing from his brother and let it lull him back to sleep.

spn

When the Chevy pulled into Winslow, Dean was driving, and he looked around the town seeing the influence of the Native American culture on the town. It was located near two reservations and a third wasn't too far away, south of the town. It was early evening, so they decided to get dinner and find a motel for their home base. They would visit the locals in the morning to see what they had and see about interviewing any witnesses. No bodies had been found, so they wouldn't need to visit the morgue.

Sam was going to stop and get a map of the area so they could mark where the victims had disappeared from and go check the locations out. They needed to see if the locals found any connects between the victims or how they were chosen and hope that might give them a clue if this was a case for them.

"You want the bathroom first?" Sam asked his brother once they entered their motel room. It was a small nondescript motel that was less popular than the bigger chain ones but suited their needs and was clean and a good location with restaurants nearby.

"Yeah, sure," Dean replied grabbing sleep clothes from his bag before stepping into the bathroom to shower.

Sam waited until he heard the water running before taking his cell phone out, not wanting Dean to know he was calling.

"Hey Bobby, we're here," Sam said quietly.

"Any problems?" Bobby asked.

"No, we'll go see the locals in the morning and see what they have."

"How's your brother?"

"About the same, still not himself, but I hope if this turns out to be a case it'll snap him out of his funk. He had another nightmare last night."

"I had hoped those were over with. You watch him Sam, if his head's not in the game, he could get himself or you hurt or killed."

"I know Bobby, I'll be careful, and I'll keep you informed."

"You do that Sam, and be careful son."

"We will, bye Bobby." Sam hung his cell up and looked to the bathroom door hoping he wasn't wrong in bringing Dean on a possible hunt. Maybe he was wrong, and he wasn't ready to get into the game again. He was worried about him and didn't know what else to do since he wouldn't talk to him. Sam dug out sleep clothes and sat on the bed waiting his turn for the bathroom.

"All yours," Dean stated when he opened the door and a cloud of steam billowed out behind him.

Sam startled for a moment and recovered quickly getting up and heading into the warm bathroom and closing the door. He dropped his clothes by the sink and turned to start the water running. His body was tired from the drive, but he hoped a hot shower was loosen the knots in his shoulders and neck.

He tilted the shower head as high as it would go before stripping and stepping into the tub. The hot water made him shiver at first until his body adjusted to it and he turned to wet his hair so he could shampoo it. Once he was done, Sam soaped down his body and rinsed but stood with his back to the hot spray, letting it beat on him. He stayed that way for several minutes relishing the loosening of his shoulders before moving to turn the water off and grab a towel to dry with. He slipped on his sleep clothes and ran the towel over his hair to get the wetness out before stepping into the other room.

Dean gave him a random glance through half closed eyes and turned back to the television to watch Dr. Sexy, MD, hoping it would put him to sleep. He ignored his brother who walked by and got into the other bed. He could hear him grunting and wiggling around as he got comfortable and settled down in his bed to either sleep or watch the television. He knew Sam was right, he wasn't the only one hurting here, Sam was in just as much pain as he was, and Dean knew he should be stronger in the situation to help him, but he couldn't. He couldn't get past the fact their Dad died to save him. The heavy burden of guilt was weighting him down more than he dreamed it would and that was something he couldn't share with Sam. That was his burden to carry. The program changed as the brothers fell asleep with the sound of the television playing quietly in the background.

spn

Sam opened the car door and got out adjusting his jacket as Dean rounded the front of the car to join him. They walked together to the door of the sheriff department and went inside to gather what information they could from them. The setup inside was atypical to most stations they had been in with a counter that split the room and a deputy behind it to greet the public. There were plastic uncomfortable chairs against the far wall and cork boards and a glass case on the wall. The walls were painted a random shade of tan and the floor was tiled squares with a few stained ones in the corner.

"Can I help you?" a male deputy asked when they stopped at the counter.

"I hope so, Agents Stiles and Russ, FBI. We'd like to speak with whoever overseeing the missing person cases," Dean told him flipping his credentials out as Sam did the same.

"FBI," the deputy noted looking the brothers up and down and then eyed his badges. "I'll let the sheriff know you're waiting. You can have a seat over there." He picked up the phone from behind the counter and buzzed the back to speak to the sheriff.

The brothers moved to the chairs and took a seat to wait. Dean sat quietly letting his eyes roam and Sam's leg began to bounce slightly as he leaned back in the seat clasping his hands in his lap. He didn't even notice the action until Dean tapped his knee to make him stop. He straightened up and cleared his throat and planted both feet firmly on the floor so he wouldn't do it again. It was ten minutes before a salt and pepper haired, older man in uniform stepped from the door behind the deputy.

"Good morning, I'm Sheriff Myers and you're FBI?" he asked standing in front of the brothers.

"Yes, Sheriff, Agents Stiles and Russ, nice to meet you," Dean replied standing and holding out his hand to shake.

"How can I help the FBI?"

"We were on our way back from our last case and got a call from out boss to swing by here and see if we could lend a hand with the disappearances around here."

"Why don't you two come back to my office and we can talk," Myers said.

The brothers followed the sheriff around the counter and through the door into a squad room with desks, filing cabinets, in/out board, cabinet with large industrial coffee pot sitting on it, along with cups, creamer, sugar, packets of hot chocolate, and two boxes of tea. The sheriff moved through the area to the back of the room and stepped into an office. He moved around the desk and took a seat, motioning for Dean and Sam to have a seat in the two chairs in front of his desk.

"Alright agents, how can I help you?" he asked leaning back in the chair and staring hard at the brothers.

"When did the first person disappear?" Sam asked.

"Well, that's hard to say since it seems there have been some homeless people that have gone missing too. At first, they were chalked up as them just moving on to another town or something. But now, with the others going missing we're looking back at them again."

"Sheriff, has anything changed or happened around here before the people went missing?"

"Let's see," Sheriff Myers thought, tapping his fingers on his desk and his brow furrowed. "The only big thing going on before that was a construction company was dynamiting out near the reservation so they could start building a housing development. Everything was put on hold when some Native American artifacts were unearthed. The tribe filed an injunction and they are fighting it out in court."

Sam and Dean looked at each other as they silently communicated. It wasn't good that something related to Native Americans was disturbed. There was not telling what could have be disturbed.

"Can we get copies of your police reports on all the missing people?" Dean asked.

"Of course, I'll get Gains to start on that," he nodded picking up his phone and calling into the squad room.

"Were there any witnesses that saw anything?"

"A pothead named Jeff Nolan, so you can't believe what he says."

"Where might we find this Jeff Nolan?"

"It's all in the reports, though there's not much there, but I guess you can find him at the garage over on Fourth Street where he works. If you do happen to find out anything, I trust you will contact me."

"Of course, Sheriff," Sam assured him.

"How do we find this construction site?" Dean asked.

"Take the main road out of town northwest to the Apache reservation. Bear left at Big Bluff Road and go five miles. You'll see the site, it's close to tribal land so be careful where you go."

"Thank you, Sheriff, we'll watch ourselves."

All turned to look at the door when someone one knocked, and a deputy stuck his head in holding up a large envelope.

"Sheriff, what you asked for," the deputy said.

"Thanks Gains give it to them," he nodded to Dean.

"Sure." Gains handed the envelope to Dean and closed the door.

"Okay Sheriff, thanks for the help and we'll be in touch." Dean got up and motioned for Sam to follow him as he headed out the door and back through the squad room to the door leading out. Sam nodded to the deputy in front before they exited the building. Dean didn't say anything until they were settled back in the Chevy. "Are you thinking what I'm thinking?"

"That maybe the explosions have unleashed some sort of Native American monster or spirit?"

"Yahzee!" Dean nodded cranking the Impala and pulling from the parking lot. He decided to head for the construction site first so they could check it out and see if anything might have been disturbed that shouldn't have been.