It was after breakfast that Dean had announced that he and Amanda would make the three hour trip to the prison that housed James Aders, leaving Sam and C.J. to do the fun task of researching. Sam knew Dean was doing his best to try and get some action from the tall blonde, but he didn't tell him that it would be time wasted.
Sam and C.J. spent hours scouring texts at the library, looking for anything that closely resembled what they had seen on the basement floor. They made copies of anything that might be of use and stayed until the library had kicked them out at closing time. No sooner than Sam had turned his cell on upon exiting the library it had rung.
"Yeah?" Sam answered, trying to balance the phone and paperwork. C.J. took the bundle from him. He quietly thanked her before she carried it to the Impala that Dean had left behind for them to use.
"Sammy, Amanda and I are going to stay here tonight. It's too late to make the trip back now," Dean announced from the other end.
"Okay," Sam returned. "You guys find anything out?"
"Some. We'll tell you when we get back tomorrow."
"Alright."
"A whole night with tall, blonde and hot - wish me luck," Dean said enthusiastically.
'You're gonna need more than luck there,' Sam thought, amused. "Yeah," he answered. "See you guys then."
"Later," Dean said, then disconnecting.
Sam approached the car where C.J. was waiting, an expectant look on her face.
"They're staying over night - they'll be back tomorrow," Sam announced, climbing in the driver's seat, C.J. following suit.
"If they don't kill each other first," C.J. laughed.
A couple hours later...
"Ugh," C.J. huffed as she buried her head into her folded arms on the desk. Sam looked up from his text and chuckled.
"Are you all right?" He wondered.
C.J. sat up, fingers buried in her dark hair. "Yeah, just frustrated and tired," she announced. "Everything's all blurred together. I don't think I ever crammed this hard for any of my mid-terms in college."
Sam nodded. "Yeah, I've been there. Where'd you go?"
"UCLA. I was working on my bachelor's in English before mom and dad were killed," she announced. "You?"
"Stanford," he modestly replied. "Law."
She whistled, obviously impressed. "Very nice. I could see that."
Sam seemed pleased that C.J. was impressed, but said nothing as she continued her caffeine induced rant.
"Mandy always tells me I've got my nose in a book too much, that I'm a big ole geek. She says I need to get out and live some; Lighten up. I think she lives enough for the both of us," she laughed. "So, I guess we're just a couple of geeks. I sure they mean it in the sincerest way, of course. Not like fanboy I still live in my mom's basement kind of geek."
"Yeah, I know what you're talking about," he laughed, more at her jittery demeanor than her actual words.
C.J. sat on the opposite bed and the pair began chatting, talking about some of their history. Some of the adventures they had on the road. Sam was happy that he found someone that he could laugh with like this. It was rare that he found someone that he could talk about nothing and everything with. Before they knew it several hours had passed. C.J. glanced at her watch.
"Wow!" She exclaimed. "We've been talking for four hours."
Sam glanced at his watch as well. "Time flies I guess."
"In good company it does," she added with a smile, which Sam returned. "Well, I guess we should get back to work," C.J. stated/questioned.
Sam glanced about then back to her. "Yeah, we should," he agreed.
They both stood at the same time to stretch and found themselves only inches apart. An awkward silence reared its ugly head as they stared at the other, as if seeing them for the first time.
"I'll, uhh, just...yeah..." she began, as she slowly sidestepped around Sam.
"C.J.?" He suddenly announced.
"Yes?" She turned around and found herself staring up into those deep, soulful eyes as Sam closed the space between them, his lips mere millimeters from her own.
C.J. suddenly found it very hard to breath as she felt Sam's hand gently resting against her cheek, the breath from his lips hot against her own. The contact of his hand against her face was more than enough to render them both silent as an electrical charge surged through them. The tension in the air was thick enough to cut with a knife as they stared eye to eye with the other.
I shouldn't be doing this, he thought as he felt C.J.'s rapid breath upon his lips. The speed of her breath matching that of his own. His heart pounded furiously in his chest. He hadn't felt this way for anyone in a long time. Not since...
'Jess...it's been so long,' he thought, not wanting to betray what they had shared. 'I want this, but I feel like I shouldn't, like it's betraying you somehow. I love you, I'll always love you - nothing will ever change that. Forgive me.'
"Sam, I know that you lost... If you don't..." C.J. whispered, noting Sam hesitancy as her fingers lingered, gently touching his; a bit unsure about her actions.
He looked deep into her eyes as if trying to catch a glimpse of her soul and softly uttered, "I do. Believe me..." What followed was nothing short of amazing.
He closed the remaining gap between them, their lips coming together tentative, at first, in a kiss. It felt...complete. Perfect. Like it had meant to been so. He felt C.J.'s fingers entwine in his hair as she tried to pull him as close as possible as his own now rested upon the sides of her face, cupping her jaw as their kisses deepened.
They barely came up for breath as they fumbled towards the bed, hands roaming, exploring. C.J. struggled to pull Sam's shirt up and off, not wanting to leave the warm embrace of his lips. He struggled with her shirt as well. They separated only long enough to pull their own said shirts out of the way and were quickly back to the business that had nothing to do with hunting.
Dean came back the next morning to find the room locked and had to dig the key from his pocket, as he balanced a drink holder which held three Styrofoam cups of steaming coffee. He walked in from the bright sun outside to the darkness of the hotel room, the sun blindness not helping matters any and sat the holder down on the one clear spot on the desk.
"Sammy?" He called out, his eyes finally adjusting to the dark as he looked around, the sound of the shower running in the background. He saw that only one bed had been used. He had figured that C.J. would crash in their room and use the spare bed, instead of going back to the one she and Amanda were sharing, after all the research. 'Oh well, just more coffee for me.'
"Sammy, you have got to check out that truck. It's so sweet. That sucker's loaded; they've got GPS, CD, DVD, surround sound, heated seats and comfortable - let me tell you! Man, I could live in that truck, easy," Dean rambled.
He looked and saw the pile of text on the desk and the discarded coffee cups. "Those kids, up all night cramming. God bless their little hearts. Sammy - you alive in there?" He crossed the room and soundly knocked on the door. The door suddenly flew open and Sam appeared wearing only a towel wrapped tightly around his waist, another draped over his shoulders, his hair still damp from the shower.
"Dean!" Sam said, sounding like a cross between surprise and uneasy. "Hey!"
"Sam. Hey," Dean mocked.
"You're back," Sam added, as he quickly pulled the door shut behind him.
"Yeah," Dean drew out. "Are you feeling okay?" He reached a hand up to feel Sam's forehead in jest.
Sam knocked Dean's hand away. "I'm fine. So, you guys find out anything?" He asked, edging Dean away from the bathroom.
"The shower's still running..." Dean noticed.
"I'll get it in a minute," Sam answering, a bit distracted. "So, you find anything?"
Dean raised an eyebrow at Sam's more than unusual disposition. "Dude, what the hell is wrong with you? You're as jumpy as a virgin on Prom night."
The sound of water running was suddenly cut short. Dean glanced from his brother to the bathroom door back to his brother once again. Finger pointed towards the bathroom, surprise reading on his face, Dean cocked an eyebrow. "Is that... C.J.? You two didn't just..." The 'kid caught with his hand in the cookie jar' look on Sam's face gave Dean all the evidence he needed. "Sammy... " He smirked.
The door opened and C.J. emerged in a towel that barely covered all the essential areas, her wet hair combed back. She looked only mildly surprised to see Dean there. Dean was inwardly disappointed to see C.J. covered in towel, hoping to catch a glimpse of something he hadn't seen in a while. Ah, well, can't win 'em all. Least Sammy boy got him some. Boy's been way too tense lately anyway.
"Morning Dean," she greeted, a bit awkward, but not completely embarrassed.
"C.J." Dean returned. "Brought you guys some coffee - figured you guys were up all night, uhm...researching," he announced, casting a smirk at his brother as he motioned to the desk where he had placed the holder
"Thanks. " She smiled as she made her way to the bed and began gathering her clothes up off the floor, holding the towel close to her so as to prevent any mishaps in front of Dean.
Dean leaned back a bit, doing his best to sneak a peek while C.J.'s back was to him. He looked to Sam and mouthed 'WOW!' giving a quick thumbs up. Sam shot him a glare and mouthed a quick 'Stop it!' just as C.J. stood, flashing a brilliant smile his way. Sam felt his stomach flutter in a way it hadn't in such a long time and he suddenly wished that Dean would make a hasty retreat.
"Yeah, you know how that researching goes." She grinned, giving a wink at Sam before retreating back into the bathroom. "So, did you and Mandy find something?" She loudly wondered.
"Well, we got in to see Aders. He did a lot of rambling, but we got some info that might be of some use," Dean announced loud enough for C.J. to hear through the door.
"That's great," C.J. returned with the same volume, exiting only a moment later dressed. She fished her socks and shoes from the floor near the desk, then sitting on the bed as she pulled them on. "That'll be the first decent lead we've had all week. I'm gonna track down Mandy and get see about rounding up some breakfast. I'm famished," she announced quickly directing a glance and another grin to Sam, who still stood in his towel near the bathroom. He returned an almost goofy smile back her way.
"You guys are more than welcome to come along," she invited.
"We'll take you up on that," Dean answered.
C.J. leaned in, placing a hand behind Sam's head as she gave him a toe curling kiss, not caring that Dean was standing right there. Sam happily reciprocated, also not caring that his brother was there as he placed his hands on the sides of her face, really wishing that Dean would go away. They finally parted after Dean cleared his throat a couple of times, feeling quite awkward at the whole thing. They were both smiling like giddy children by the time they were done.
'Sammy boy, you sly little dog!' Dean thought enviously.
"See you guys in ten then," she added, her eyes twinkling, as she grabbed a cup of coffee on the way out.
The door had no sooner clicked behind her when Dean started in. "Sammy boy, you are such a dog! You must've given her one hell of a night - she couldn't wipe that smile off her face!"
Sam had to admit that part, C.J. was beautiful and the night before and what followed had been perfect, but he still felt that twinge of guilt eating at him from way down. He knew it was probably a one time deal, the duration of the job kind of thing, but he was glad that she had been the first since...
"Dude! Are you gonna get dressed or are you just gonna stand there moon-eyed over your girlfriend all day?" Dean asked with a smirk finally glad that his brother had lightened up and was obviously very happy.
Sam only shook his head as he made his way to his carry-all, digging out his clothes for the day and retreated back to the bathroom, emerging dressed in jeans a moment later.
"Well, at least one of us got...had some luck," seeing yet another glared directed at him.
Sam pulled his shirt over his head with an, "So, no luck with Amanda, I take it?"
Dean turned around, leaning against the desk as he began, "Dude, I used my best stuff on Amanda last night and she totally blew me off."
"Shocking," Sam quipped, rather amused.
"Shut up," Dean growled. "I mean, my best stuff, dude. Nothing. I got a smile and a pat on the shoulder."
Sam let out a chuckle.
"What?" Dean demanded.
"Hate to break it to you, man, but Amanda doesn't really play with boys that way - if you know what I mean."
The look on Dean's face was priceless as he tried to figure out what Sam was talking about. Sam could almost hear the gears grinding as Dean finally figured it out. His eyes flew wide open. "No way. Chick that hot and she plays for the home team? Damn! Man - that's so not fair," Dean groused. "Then you and C.J. ... It's always the quiet ones - should've known."
Pulling his shoes on, Sam then went up to his brother and patted him on the shoulder. "Sorry, man. Seems Buffy's more up Amanda's alley," he said as he headed for the door, Dean close behind.
"Buffy's hot," he announced. "So, are you gonna give me any juicy details?"
"No," Sam bluntly replied, making his way out the door.
"Aww, come on man. Trying to live vicariously through you. Not even a smidgen?"
"Nope."
"Damn. This is just not my day," Dean muttered as he shut the door behind him.