Disclaimer: I still don't own Supernatural or its characters. I and am not making any money on this…I'm just having fun filling in the time until September!

Double Trouble

Chapter 13 – Road Trip

Dean walked further into the kitchen. "You were able to contact him then?" Dean shook his head at the weirdness of the statement.

"I'm not some sort of psychic telephone Dean…but once I've made a connection with someone, I can normally resume that connection. Now set yourself down and eat…don't bother telling me you're not hungry, I could hear that stomach of yours growling before you even stepped into the house!"

Dean sat down and began to eat the food that Missouri placed in front of him. He really didn't want to take the time to eat, but he knew better than to argue with the black woman when she was in one of her moods.

Dean flinched as he felt the slap on the back of his head. "Moody…I'll show you moody. Now tell me what you found out and I'll tell you what I learned from Sam. Then we can get this show on the road!"

Dean smiled; Missouri seemed to be back to normal. But he still could see the tiredness in her eyes as she sat down to finish her tea. "The van was abandoned, but I did find a receipt from a small town just outside of Hastings, Nebraska…I wonder if the shape shifter was getting ready to move on after he finished here?"

"You may be right, Sam doesn't know exactly where he is right now, other than he's in a truck like your Dad's and he mentioned he was cold…I'm sorry, it's not much to go on. But at least we know that he's alive and still fighting." Missouri sighed as she closed her eyes for a moment. The contact with Sam had weakened her more than she wanted to admit. She'd have to get a little stronger before she attempted to tap into the shape shifter.

Dean saw Missouri trying to hide her exhaustion. "Missouri…thanks! I know you did this to help, but do me a favor huh…don't push yourself too hard. Why not wait until we get a little closer, then it won't be so hard on you."

Missouri smiled at the concern she saw in Dean's eyes. "Thanks honey, you know for someone who claims to not get this psychic stuff, you shore do know how to deal with us…don't you ever worry about how you handle that brother of yours…just keep going with your instincts and you'll be fine."

Dean stood, heading for the bedroom to grab their stuff. "Pack your bags Missouri…we need to get this show on the road!"

A short time later, Dean had the Impala heading towards Hastings. He figured that the Shape Shifter would be taking the back roads to avoid detection. Besides, he now knew what he was looking for. While Missouri was packing, Dean had made a quick call to the police department and had discovered that a red pick up truck was reported stolen from the same motel parking lot that he found the van in. He figured he would head directly for Hastings and then begin to search the neighboring towns until he found the truck. It wasn't much, but at least for now he had a destination.

Dean smiled as he looked at the person riding in the shot gun position. Just like his brother, Missouri had been quickly lulled to sleep by the Impala's powerful engine. Dean wanted to turn on his music, but out of respect for the tired psychic, he elected to just hum softly to himself. "Hold on Sammy…we're coming for you!" Dean thought as he settled in for the long drive ahead.

ooooooooo

Sam slowly opened his eyes, wishing that he had remained unconscious as he became aware of his body for the first time in hours. Shaking his head slightly, he tried to sit up, but soon fell back onto the floor; his body was too weak to move. Looking around him, Sam could see that he was in some kind of storm shelter. He could see the emergency supplies neatly piled on shelves in the corner and the shelter doors that were letting in the bands of light from the sun.

Sam tried to take stock of his physical condition. He knew that his shoulder and the knife wound had stopped bleeding, probably because he was close to freezing to death. Sam felt the tremors going through his body as he tried once again to push himself up into a sitting position. Man, he had to start wearing long underwear under his clothes, at least then when some freak decided to steal his clothes he wouldn't be left with nothing but his briefs.

He had to do something for himself, otherwise he was going to bleed or freeze to death before Dean and Missouri could find him. He knew they were on their way; somehow Missouri had entered his unconscious mind to reassure him that he wasn't alone. He could tell that she was still weak, but at least he knew two things, Missouri was with Dean and both of them were alive and safe for the time being.

Sam's hands were hand-cuffed behind his back and his legs were still tied. The first order of business was to get out of the cuffs. Knowing it would hurt like hell, Sam drew up his legs to his chest and slipped his hands under his but and legs to bring them in front of his body. He took a few moments to let the pain that the movement had caused diminish before he reached down with his hands and untied the rope that bound his legs.

Sam pushed himself up onto unsteady legs and headed for the supplies on the shelf. He found a piece of wire and quickly got out of the cuffs. Rubbing his wrists, Sam grabbed a bottle of water and gulped it down. He hadn't had anything to drink or eat for awhile. He knew he could survive without eating, but he had to keep himself hydrated. Next he pulled out the first aid kit and began to work on bandaging his shoulder and side.

Finally grabbing a blanket, he walked carefully over to the trap door for the shelter. He tried to push the door open, but it was locked from the outside. If he hadn't been in his current weakened condition, he might have been able to break it down, but for now he had to be grateful that he had been able to take care of some of his more immediate needs.

Sitting down on the floor, Sam wrapped the blanket tightly around him, hoping it would help keep out the chill. "Well, I hope you get here soon big brother, cause these accommodations really suck!"

oooooooooo

It was late in the afternoon by the time Dean pulled into Hastings. He found a motel on the outskirts of town and obtained two adjoining rooms. Missouri had slept the whole way and was still sleeping as Dean pulled up in front of the rooms. He was glad; he knew that she was still recovering from her experience at the hands of the shape shifter.

"Hey Missouri…time to wake up!" Dean felt awkward waking the woman. Normally it would have been Sam.

Missouri slowly opened her eyes and smiled at Dean. "Where are we?" She asked as she headed for the hotel room. Dean followed closely carrying both of their bags. She smiled at the way Dean was taking care of her…he was a natural born caregiver.

"Just outside of Hastings. How are you feeling?" Dean noticed that Missouri was still moving slowly, probably from the bruises he was sure were hidden by her clothing. If this had been Sammy, he would have made him show Dean the injuries…but with Missouri…well it was a little more complicated.

"Boy, stop fretting over me…I told you I'm a little bruised and tired. Now what are we going to do about finding that brother of yours?" Missouri took a seat in Dean's room, smiling as he automatically took the bed by the doorway.

"Well, I kinda thought I'd get us some dinner and then let my fingers do the walking" Dean said mischievously.

"Ah…of course, you're going to start calling the psychics in the area…you know I could try to tap into the shape shifter's thoughts. It's dangerous, but it may give us the lead we need." Missouri chewed her lower lip, not sure that she as strong enough yet to keep the shape shifter from feeling her presence.

Dean watched Missouri for a moment. "Look Missouri, why don't we save that for a little later? He held up his hand as he saw her starting to object. "Will you be able to tell if the person is the shape shifter or the real thing?"

"Sure Dean, each individual has their own aura about them…and believe me, that monster's aura is one I'll never forget!"

"Good, then here's the plan, I locate the suspects and you tell me if they are real or the shape shifter…I'm betting he will follow his same pattern, so I'm going to start with the first psychic in each area's phone book."

Missouri looked at Dean and smiled at the young man. "You know Dean, some times your really are the sharpest crayon in the box!"

ooooooooo

Sam nodded off, his body and the remaining drugs in his system demanded that he rest. Suddenly he heard the door yanked open and a long pair of jean clad legs coming down the stairs. Sam launched himself at his double, hoping to catch him off guard long enough for Sam to escape.

Sam and the shape shifter went down in a tangle of arms and legs. Sam managed to connect with the shape shifter's jaw and followed up with a jab to the ribs. But Sam was fighting injured, a fact his double took full advantage of as he rammed his fist into Sam's injured side.

Sam gasped and fell back as the blood began to flow from the knife wound once more. The shape shifter smiled as he advanced on Sam. "So, you want to play rough…well guess what…I like it rough Sammy boy!"

TBC

Raven524: Thanks to everyone who reviewed...I did try to get back to all of you, but the site was flakey...so if I missed responding, please accept my heartfelt thanks...reviews make the job fun!