Be Made of Salt And... chp 3

Tommy woke up almost 4 hours later to find Dean at the computer and Sam asleep on the other bed. He sat up slowly and then got to his feet, making his way to the bathroom without a word to his oldest brother. When he reappeared minutes later, he just shook his head. "Okay, so I should have told you about the asthma, but no more epi. Crap gives me a headache." He took a seat across from Dean.

Dean raised an eyebrow at him. "Is that so?" He sat back in his chair. "Too fucking bad because if I think you need it, I'll give it to you." He held up a hand when it looked like Tommy was going to protest. "I talked to Bryan and he said that it was probably a good thing that I did it, so don't be expecting me to listen to you about that for a while."

A shake of his head was Tommy's response to that before taking a deep breath and letting it out slowly. "There was a black duffle in Caleb's truck, has my journals in it."

"Sam brought it in earlier. It's sitting on the other chair over there. Before you start on those, however, you need to eat." He got up and woke Sam. "Come on, sleeping beauty's up and it's time to eat."

Sam snorted. "About frickin time." He stood up and tossed Tommy his jacket before he put his own on. "There's a diner down the street. And considering that Dean ate your dinner that he'd brought back earlier along with his own, I figure something hot is in order."

Tommy nodded. "I could do with getting out of here for a bit."

"You feel up to it?" This came from Dean, who was watching him worriedly.

"I'm good Dean. My leg's a bit sore from you sticking me, but I'm okay otherwise. Besides, walking a bit will help me loosen up. Then you two can tell me what all you've found out about our newest job."

"You best watch it buster, I'm still the oldest." Dean ruffled his middle brother's hair.

"And the one closest to being senile." This came from Sam, which was quickly followed by a scramble for the door, led by the two youngest.

Two hours later, they were all back in the hotel room. Sam was currently in the shower. Tommy and Dean had already gotten theirs, using the older brother rule to get ahead of the youngest.

Tommy handed Dean a cup of coffee, fresh from the standard motel room coffee pot. "Can't vouch for how good it is, but at least it's hot." He took a seat across from his oldest brother. "So this woman, Grace Hutchins, was killed by, more than likely, a hellhound. It wouldn't be the first one we've faced."

"Maybe not, but I get the feeling that this one is a bit different."

"How so?"

"Well, for starters, she was attacked in the daytime and from past experiences, we know that they primarily attack at night."

"Could have been wounded." This came from Sam, who had finally exited the bathroom, a towel wrapped around his middle since he forgot, as usual, to take clean clothes in with him.

"Maybe, but that still doesn't mean it has to be a hellhound."

"What else could it be then? Because none of the black dogs I've ever hunted have gone after something that far from a road." Tommy stated, handing Sam the last cup of coffee from the pot, but only after his brother had gotten dressed.

"Beats me, but I definitely think that we should do some more investigating when we get there before we set out after this thing."

Sam nodded. "Going to have to agree with you on that one Dean."

Tommy snorted. "Believe me, I have no intention of going after anything until I know what the hell it is and how to kill it."

Dean winked at Sam. "See, smart brother. Learned from the best."

Without a word to each other, Tommy and Sam tackled Dean, quickly letting him know that they still knew where he was ticklish at and that it was a bad thing to mess with both of his younger brothers at the same time.