A/N: The hunt is on and Dean has found his monster. Sam is closing in on his brother and will be finding him soon. I know it seems to take forever, but the reunion scene was the first thing I saw when I got this story idea. Hang in there only a couple more chapters. I hope you are enjoying this AU. Reviews would be great. If you have not left a review, I hope you might leave one and let me know what you think of the story. NC

Chapter 22

Dean woke with a startled jerk the next morning as the remnants of a dream still played in his head. He was running through the woods chasing something that he could not quite make out, but the shape looked familiar. He was in wolf form and he smelled the fear ahead of him and knew he had to catch it. The vision faded away and he lay there taking some deep breaths as he worked on relaxing his tense body and calming his mind.

Once the tension was gone, he got up and headed for the bathroom to take a shower. The water felt good as he stepped under the hot spray, letting it beat on his neck, shoulders and head. He stood there for a few minutes before reaching for his shampoo to wash his hair. He did not realize how much it had grown in the past couple of months and felt a little shaggy. Dean finished his shower and stepped out to dry off. He cinched the towel around his hips and stepped into the main room to find clean clothes. He dressed and tossed the towel into the bathroom.

The room had a small coffee pot and he dropped one of the coffee/filter combos into the basket and went into the bathroom to fill the pot. He filled the machine, slipped the pot back in place and turned it on. The machine started to hum and hiss as it made a pot of coffee filling the room with the rich smell.

Dean moved to the table and looked down at the map still laying spread out on top of it. He let his finger trace the X's he had marked on the map as his mind wandered for a moment, like there was something there just out of his sight. He frowned slightly trying to put it together but was disturbed when the coffee pot dinged it was done. He stepped back to the dresser and took a disposable cup, filling it with hot coffee. Knowing it was too hot to drink, he sat it on the table and took a seat pulling the map closer.

He looked around on the table and found a red pin. Carefully, Dean drew a line connecting the X's of where the patients lived and found a black one to connect where the patients had been found. Once that was done, he leaned closer and looked to see what was in the overlaying areas. He marked a couple of businesses to check out since they were assessable to all the patient. He picked up the cup and blew across it before taking a tentative sip, trying not to burn his tongue. It was strong, just how he liked it. He grabbed a pad to write down the addresses and directions wanting to be there when they opened to check them out.

Dean grabbed his jacket and was going to the diner in one of the overlaying areas since he decided to get breakfast and scope it out at the same time. Maybe it was a waitress or waiter or another employee working there that was the Buspara. He took his coffee with him to drink on the way, wanting to get his caffeine fix going. He went to the Impala and got in, being careful not to spill it, and cranked her up to head across town to the diner.

spn

The diner was crowded when he stepped into the foyer and looked around for a moment before making his way to the bar and taking a stool at the end where he could see the dining area. Most of the patrons looked like people on their way to work stopping to grab breakfast.

"Coffee hon?" a waitress, who was older than the others asked holding a pot of coffee and waiting for Dean to answer.

"Yes, thanks," Dean nodded turning his cup over.

"Here you go, I'll give you a minute and be right back to get your order."

"That's fine," Dean replied picking up a menu to look at. He looked around at the workers hurrying by and flared his nostrils slightly trying to catch any strange smells or sense anything with any of the people around him. It was hard to sort the food smells from the other, but he finally managed to do it and got nothing.

"You ready hon?" the waitress asked as she stopped by him again.

"Yes, I'll have the meat lover's plate, all rare and easy over eggs."

"I'll get this right in." She turned and scribbled on her pad before slipping it on a turnstile for the kitchen and went to take care of another customer.

Dean sipped his coffee, thinking it was not bad compared to other place's he had visited in his life. He was happy that coffee was starting to taste okay now that he had been drinking it for a while since he had been bitten. Other things were still not tasting great, and he tried to avoid those foods.

He got the feeling this place was a bust and he was not going to find anything here. There was way too much stimulus for him to stay for long. He hoped his food came out quickly so he could leave. He tried to shut out and ignore what he could until then.

The waitress returned with his food and refilled his coffee cup and checked to see if there anything else he needed.

Dean thanked her and said he was fine. He took half a piece of toast and dipped it into the egg yolk, breaking it and coating the bread taking a bite. He cut off a piece of sausage and put it in his mouth, chewing quickly. Dean finished his meal, feeling full, but not really satisfied. The waitress brought his check and he glanced at it before pulling a couple of bills from his pocket, leaving her a nice tip since she kept his coffee cup full and checked on him a couple of times to see if he needed anything else.

He wiped his mouth and got up to leave. Dean was happy to get out in the fresh air and clear his senses before getting in the car. He was going to the next place on his list, which was four miles away. When he pulled up to the curb, he saw the business was not open yet and would not be for another two hours. He looked down to the next one on his list and knew it should be open. It was a convenience store about five miles away. He was going to check it out next. He would fill the Impala and see if he sensed anything there.

spn

The drive there was uneventful, and he pulled up to a pump and stopped. Dean got out and slid a card into the gas pump and went to the back to fill the Impala. He never thought about the card being traced back to him by Sam. He looked around and did not see anything unusual outside the business that threw any red flags. Once he was done, he moved to a parking spot at the front of the store and got out to go inside.

As soon as he stepped into the store, the scent hit him in the face making him stumble slightly before he caught himself. He put a neutral expression on his face and tensed as he looked around to see who was in the store. There was a young woman grabbing coffee and a Danish, a middle-aged man buying a lottery ticket, a couple of teenagers grabbing drinks and snacks and the person at the cash register.

Dean moved slowly into the store and scoped the people out. He went to a display and picked out a bag of jerky before heading toward the front. He studied each person ahead of him but could not zero in on the scent until he was next at the cash register and then he knew. The young man at the register looked up and spoke to him.

"Is this it?" he asked taking the bag of jerky.

"Yep," Dean grunted knowing he had found his monster without a doubt. The clerk smelled off with a hint of staleness and rot. His hand itched to draw his gun and blow him away, but people were coming and going from the store. He was going to have to wait until the store closed and take him out then. Dean paid for the jerky and made himself leave the monster for now. He did not think it would be attacking anyone during the day where it could be seen.

Dean took the bag and headed out to the car. He dropped into the driver's seat, swearing to himself that he had to leave it alive. He fought the anger building inside of him and gripped the steering wheel tightly to rein it in. Once he had calmed enough, Dean cranked the Impala and headed back to the motel to pack and check out. He was coming back to stake the place out in case the clerk left. He pulled out and sped away from the convenience store wanting to get back. Now that he had a target, he started working on a plan to take the Buspara out.

spn

Sam woke slowly and stretched still feeling tired but got up to take a shower. He wanted to get started on checking the town and the other location outside of town. If he did not find anything here, he would try to figure out where to go next.

Sam pushed himself up and headed for the bathroom and turned on the water in the shower. Once he had used the commode, he adjusted the temperature and stepped into the tub. He had to bend down a little to get his head wet since the shower head was too low. Once he got his hair wet, he shampooed it and washed his body and rinsed before turning the water off and grabbing a towel. He dried off and ran the towel through his wet hair before stepping out and going into the main room for clean clothes.

Sam packed his bag and gave the room a quick glance before heading out of the room to the Dodge. He threw his bag in the back and got in to crank it. He decided to try a diner that was not far away for breakfast and ask if anyone had seen his brother. He pulled from the parking lot and merged in with the traffic to drive to the diner.

The parking lot was half full as he found a place to park. Sam got out and headed for the front doors and waited for a hostess to seat him in a booth. He looked over the menu while waiting on a waitress to take his order.

"Good morning to you, young man," an older woman greeted him with a smile.

"Morning," Sam replied, smiling back.

"What can I get you to drink?"

"Coffee is good with cream, and I'll have the Blue Plate Special with scrambled eggs and fresh fruit."

"I can do that. I'll get this in and bring your coffee." She headed to the window and the turnstile adding his order with the rest. She grabbed a pot of coffee along with a small pitcher of cream and headed back to Sam's table. "Here you go. Your food will be out shortly."

"Ma'am, can I ask you something?"

"Of course, young man, how can I help you?" she asked pausing and looking at him with a motherly expression.

"I'm looking for my brother that might have been in here a few weeks ago. Here's a photo of us together." Sam pulled a photo up on his cell and showed her the picture.

She looked at it and took the cell from Sam to get a better look as she thought about it.

"I think I remember seeing him in here with another gentleman probably two weeks ago and they left together. I can't be sure, we have had a lot of customers come through here since then, but I do believe it was your brother."

"Do you know who the other man was?" Sam asked excitement in his voice.

"I believe he lives in a private Community outside of town, but I'm not sure. The gentleman does not come in often and he has that sort of air that you remember, plus, he's a good tipper. Sorry, I can't be of more help."

"No, that's great, you've been very helpful," Sam assured her. He wanted to get up and leave right now but forced himself to remain sitting and to eat breakfast. He needed the nourishment before going to check this lead out. His hands were shaking as he picked up his doctored coffee and took a sip, trying to calm himself so he could eat. This was his first big lead and hopefully has put him one step closer to finding his brother.