Disclaimer: The lawyers say no I don't own Supernatural but they could be wrong right?
"I'm not going to pretend to be stricken and embarrassed Dean." Jack said breaking the stretch of silence that had lasted for the past two hours. "I'm not a child."
"Jack, now is really not the time." Sam said sensing an argument on the horizon.
"Sure it is, Sammy." Dean said in that calm level voice that meant he was going to shoot something.
"What did you think you were doing?" Dean locked eyes with her in the rearview mirror.
"Name's Nathan." She answered defiantly.
"Don't be smart." Dean told her angrily.
"Don't be a hypocrite." She shot back.
"If you don't care what we think why did you try to hide it?" Sam asked taking the quieter approach.
"I didn't say I didn't care what you thought and I wasn't hiding anything." Not really.
"And besides I knew you'd get all protective and big brothery on me." Jack said looking pointedly at Dean.
"Of course we would!" Dean said veering into the first gas station they'd passed in a long time. He got out of the car, slamming it behind him and poked his head back in to looked at Jack.
"Stay in the car." He ordered.
"On a scale of one to ten?" Jack asked looking at Sam.
"Ten. Definitely a ten." Sam scowled at her.
"A one night stand Jack?" He asked twisting in his chair to look at her. He looked searchingly into her eyes.
"Don't look like that, there wasn't any question of consent." She said insulted by his thinking anyone could force her to do anything.
"Were you safe?" He asked looking like he'd rather be having any conversation but this one. But he knew that question might get forgotten by his brother while he was still mad.
"Kill me now." Jack groaned looking up at the ceiling. "Yes, I'm not stupid."
"I think that could be argued." Sam mumbled well aware that she could hear him. "He's a stranger. He could have been an axe murderer for all you knew."
"Sammy." Jack barked a laugh, "He was a college kid, a couple years younger than you."
"What if that demon was possessing him and we only thought we killed it. It would've been the perfect trap to kill you." Sam said, thinking that only with them did a situation like that have a precedent.
"He wouldn't have been able to cross the salt lines." Jack argued smugly.
"Jack," Sam said looking at her seriously. "You're better than that."
'No I'm not.' Jack thought.
Dean came back with a bag of snacks. He tossed it onto the drivers seat and went to fill up the tank. His mood had not improved in the last few minutes.
He pumped the gas, glancing at the back of Jack's head. He wasn't sure exactly why he was so mad, just that he wanted to drive back there and lash that boy to the hood of his car. She was wrong about him thinking it was because of her age. He didn't think of her as a child, never had. Calling someone who'd seen the things Jack had, a child was disrespectful. He didn't think it was jealousy, he didn't want her for himself. She was probably the only platonic female friend he'd ever had. But the thought of some random guy with her didn't sit right with him. Especially some rich bitch, frat kid who didn't know which end was his ass. And there was something else, something on the edge of his thought process that he couldn't really make out, something buried.
Hypocritical? Yes. Justified? Also yes in his eyes. He finished pumping the gas and got back in the car. He didn't turn it on though instead he turned around to glare at Jack.
"No more hooking up with random jackasses that we save on gigs. Or random jackasses period" Dean said. "I don't care what he says or how nice his car is."
All Jack's fierce independence roared at this order and the insinuation.
"Go to hell." She snarled. Sam's eyes widened and Dean's hands clenched tightly in the steering wheel.
"Jack." He said in that tone that said whoever was pissing him off better get their shit straight and get the hell out of the line of fire. Either Jack didn't recognize it or she was choosing to ignore it.
"Dean. You are not my father. I can do as I please and I can certainly fuck who I please." Jack said. Dean's pupils were a pinpoint, he wasn't speaking just looking at her and she felt the first creep of fear. An angry Dean was a frightening Dean, she knew that from hunting with them for these past few months.
"Don't push me Jack or you'll share a room with Sammy from now on and believe me he'll be as much of a guard dog as me." Dean threatened. Dean turned the car on and cranked up the volume, drowning out Jack's retort.
Sam watched in surprise, if he hadn't seen how serious Dean was he would've thought that last remark was a joke to break the tension. But he had seen his face and frankly he was shocked. Sam disapproved sure, but he disapproved when Dean hooked up randomly too. He'd never seen Dean and Jack argue like this before, usually they went back and forth until one of them made a crack and they ended up laughing or someone gave. The two just had similar ways about them like that, an understanding. But they were both glaring daggers now, no one was joking and neither were giving in on their point of view.
They passed a road sign that read '100 miles to Tucson, Arizona'. It was going to be a long drive, Sam thought.
Sam was right. The silence between them blared in the car. He tried turning off the radio but Dean stopped him mid-motion without even looking at him. He tried catching Jack's eye in the backseat but she was either staring straight out the window or scribbling madly in her notebook. About what he didn't know.
Finally Sam couldn't stand it. They were heading towards his vision and they didn't even know what it was about yet. Was being over protective really more important than the hunt? Of course he wouldn't risk taking a bullet by speaking this aloud instead he reached out and turned down the volume before Dean could grab his hand.
"So woman comes home. Husband has a nice candlelit dinner laid out for her, she's going for it when suddenly he turns his back and she sticks a knife in his back." Sam said quickly and loud so he could be heard over their protests.
"What's it mean?" He asked them.
"He hasn't taken the garbage out in twenty years Sammy. What's this got to do with anything?" Dean said.
"That's what my vision was. And it wasn't her doing it. I don't have visions about mundane crimes, otherwise I'd never get any sleep." Sam said.
"Doppelganger?" Jack asked jumping right on board just to be contrary.
"Don't think so." Sam said. He described the dream in detail, telling them about the whispers he heard, about the sudden personality shift.
"Could be a skin walker." Den said grudgingly.
"Or maybe she was being controlled by a third party. But that kind of control takes power, why waste on a random couple." Jack suggested.
"Maybe they aren't random." Sam said. "Hopefully we'll get there in time."
"What did the house look like?" Dean asked.
"It was an apartment and I couldn't make out much. It was big, probably expensive, but still a family place." Sam said thoughtfully.
"That all you got?" Dean asked not in an annoyed way. Just him wanting to know.
"Yeah." Sam said. Dean nodded and cranked the volume back up. And that was it, just business, no cracks about it being the trendy new kind of divorce or the husband forgetting to put the toilet seat down or any other shots he would have expected to hear.
Sam sighed and went back to looking out the window at the sun. Somewhere in the tension he'd missed it rising but it was blazing over head now, showing that they were getting closer to their gig. Even in December the sun gave little quarter in this part of the country. The rest of their drive passed the same way till they finally got to Tucson. Sam jumped out of the car before Dean turned it off, so he could escape the aura of irritation. The sun was already disappearing, they'd been on the road all day.
"I'll get the rooms." He said walking towards the front of the motel Dean had chosen. Usually the bigger the city the worse the motel they stayed and this was no exception. The front desk was dingy and the woman behind it looked at Sam with watery eyes.
"Two rooms please." Sam said flashing her a smile she didn't return. He pulled out a phony credit card.
"Singles or doubles." She said bored.
"One single one double." Jack answered for him coming up from behind. The woman's eyes slid to Jack then to Sam for confirmation. He nodded and she retreated into the little office behind her to get the keys.
"I take you didn't make nice while I was gone." Sam said. He looked out the glass door and saw Dean leaning against the drivers side door looking at something Sam couldn't see.
"Nope." Jack said. She fingered her medallion absently.
"He means well." Sam said.
"I don't take orders well. And I don't think I deserved that." Jack said irritably.
"Guys are protective of their female friends. Dean even more so I guess. You know cause of…" Sam trailed off. The excuse felt empty even to him. He wanted to know what was going through his brothers head right then.
"Why are men so weird about that shit?" Jack asked snorting.
"Because men are dogs." Sam said smiling.
"Even you? No, you're more of a pup." Jack said lightly.
"Second floor, round back. Have a nice stay." The desk clerk said throwing the keys hap hazardously in front of them. She took the credit card from Sam and ran it through the machine.
"I meant what I said Jack," Sam said looking at her seriously before they left the building. "You're better than some random guy you bumped into."
"The guy wasn't that bad, he was sweet." Jack said defending someone she barely knew.
Sam shook his head and opened the door for her. Sam remembered the kid, mostly because the entire time Dean was reaming the survivors of the little stunt they pulled, the guy in question was looking at Jack like she was the greatest thing since sliced bread and beer bongs.
"Rooms are on the second floor around the back." Sam said tossing one of the keys to Dean and handing the other to Jack.
"Another day another something to kill." Dean said with his sunglasses pulled down over his eyes.
TBC……………..
AN: Too short, I know. But a longer chapter and a new something nasty for the heroes to fight are coming soon. Till then I'm a review junkie, please feed my addiction.