An hour later, the trio was out in the salvage yard between the impala and Riley's truck. Sam came out of the house, carrying a green plastic laundry basket full of the clothing she'd brought to Bobby's to wash. He'd done the laundry on the quick cycle as sort of a peace offering; he still felt bad about prying for information about Riley's father. "Where did you say we were going?" She asked softly, watching the lanky man put her clothing into the back seat of the impala, basket and all. He straightened up and closed the back door.
"Lebanon, Kansas." Sam spoke, her eyes moving him to the older man. Dean was in the bed of her truck, checking the bungee ties, eyeing her smallish load that was partially covered with a gray tarp. He nodded, satisfied and hopped down from the truck bed. "We'll be there by morning."
She fought a yawn. "I wish we could just stay here for tonight..." The boys looked at one another, having a silent conversation. "What?"
"You want one of us to drive your truck and you can sleep? It's about a six hours drive south of here." Dean spoke, dusting off his hands on his jeans. His studious gaze raked over the brunette; she looked physically and emotionally spent and hell, he couldn't blame her.
She sighed softly before fishing her keys out of her shoulder bag and tossing them to Dean. He tossed his impala keys to Sam. He nodded at the pair before moving around to the driver's seat, sliding inside and firing up the engine. Riley was staring at the sleek black car until Dean cleared his throat and she snapped out of it.
They got inside and put on their seat belts before he turned over the engine. "I remember Bobby working on this truck awhile back." He murmured and she looked over at him. "He told us he sold it. I helped put in the new tranny." That made her smile a bit. "Listen, Riley, I know this isn't exactly what you had planned for the summer..."
"Yeah, no kidding." Another tear slid down her cheek and he shifted into drive to follow Sam. Dean turned on the headlights and they rolled over the gravel towards the road. Dean snuck a glance over at the forlorn woman next to him, her letter in her lap. He hadn't read his yet, but when he had some private time, he would.
Across the bench seat from him, she was watching the fading sunset out the passenger window as they headed south towards Lebanon. "Ry? Just sleep. We're not gettin' there for awhile." She reached out to turn on the radio to some soft music.
He made a face and she smiled tiredly. "It's country... you'll like it."
"Right." He did not sound conviced. The brunette slouched down a bit on the bench seat, trying to get comfortable. Within a few moments, she was asleep against the window, her breath fogging up the glass. Dean glanced over at her as he followed the impala down the two lane, occasionally passing another motorist.
Dean hummed a bit as he drove, anxious to get home to the bunker.
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"Wow..." Sam and Dean were carrying her things from the truck bed into the bunker. They set down the card catalog table in one of the spare bedrooms. "She has some cool shit." They looked around at her minimal belongings; a coat hanger made from old license plates with hooks welded on the front, an antique dresser that had old car door handles as drawer pulls and an old trunk, half full of bed linens and some shoes and clothes.
"You ain't kiddin'," The older hunter set a lamp on top of the card catalog consul. An old orange carjack served as the base, rust and all. At the end of the pull was a spark plug. "This is awesome."
"You think Bobby did this for her?"
"Probably." Dean watched Sam set her backpack down next to the open closet. "We should go get her." He glanced at his watch. "It's almost 3am."
They walked back down to the garage, where Riley was still sleeping in her truck. Dean tapped on the window and she startled awake before wrenching open the passnger door. "Where are we?" Her voice was small as her eyes moved around tha massive garage filled with antique cars and motorcycles. Her gaze returned to them questioningly.
"We're home." Sam said softly and she met his hazel eyes. "We unloaded all your stuff in your room." She glanced back at the now empty truck bed as she slid out. The brunette nodded and pulled her shoulder bag from the bench seat before Dean reached out to close the door. "C'mon, I'll show you around."
The trio entered the bunker and Riley was amazed. Her room was off the main living area and Dean pointed out their rooms as well. "Kitchen's down the hall to the left. Not sure what's left as far as food... might need to make a run tomorrow." The two men shared a look. "I'm gonna hit the hay." Dean spoke. "Night." Sam and Riley looked after him as he headed towards his bedroom.
"Riley, I'm sorry for prying about your dad." He was direct and she nodded, her eyes dropping to the floor.
"Yeah, I'm sorry I got pissed." Riley sighed, somewhat tearfully. "It's been a really long, strange day."
Sam smiled ruefully. "We kinda put your stuff wherever... If you need it moved, let me know." He crossed the hall to open her bedroom door and turned on her light. Her eyes got wide, seeing her prized posessions arranged carefully around the room. At the end of the bed, they'd placed her trunk. There was a nightstand next to the bed and her card catalog was next to the door, her jack lamp plugged in and setting on the corner. Her pencil box was on the nightstand and her bag was on the bed. "We don't have closets in any of the rooms, just that bar to hang your stuff." He paused. "I can get you some crates or something for underneath if you want."
"Thank you, Sam." Her tone was tired, but slightly more friendly this time.
"You yell if you need us." He nodded. "See you in the morning." The brunette nodded and he slipped out, clsosing the door behind him. Riley pulled some sheets out of her trunk and frowned when she saw that they wouldn't fit the bed; her dorm bed was a twin and this was a full sized one.
No matter, she reasoned. She stretched the flat sheet over the mattress as much as possible before she looked around. A shower sounded nice and she pulled some pajamas out of her backpack to change into before opening her door. The low level lighting was on in the hallway and she couldn't hear a sound. Riley crept down the hallway to the bathroom and flipped on the light, closing and locking the door behind her.
She was still a little weary of the two men aforementioned in Bobby's letter; she didn't know them from Adam, but if Bobby trusted them, then she would also. Riley turned on the water and stripped down quickly, anxious to get under the hot water. She used the shampoo and soap sitting there, cursing herself for not grabbing her own bodywash. It smelled masculine and Riley closed her eyes, raising her face to the hot water to rinse off.
She cranked off the faucets and got out, using two white towels hanging on the rack. After dressing, Riley looked at her reflection; yesterday morning, she'd packed her belongings in her truck in Decorah after finishing her finals. She spent the last two summers at Bobby's and this was wasn't to be any different.
Except that it was.
Everything was.
He was gone and she was alone.
The sense of abandonment hit her in the chest and she gripped the countertop, trying to will herself not to cry again.
When Riley got ahold of herself a few moments later, she dared to look at herself in the mirror. Her eyes were swollen and she looked thoroughly exhausted. She pulled open one of the slim drawers and found a hairbrush. After running it through her hair, she plucked the few strands of hair from it before replacing it in the drawer. She shut off the light and headed down the hallway to her room to brush her teeth in the sink in her room.
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Dean couldn't sleep and he was sitting out in the war room, heel up on the table, legs crossed at the ankle. A mug of coffee sat in front of him, half full. He could hear Riley shuffling around in her room after getting a shower. He saw her shadow creeping up the hallway slowly and the corner of his mouth turned up in a smirk. "Hey Ry." She jumped, hand to her chest. "Sorry."
"Did I wake you up? I'm sorry, I was trying to be quiet." The brunette pushed her damp hair back, then crossed her arms over her chest shyly as she approached him. Green met brown and he eyed her before answering.
"Haven't gone to bed yet." Pause. "You want coffee?"
"Yeah." Riley turned to look in the direction of where she thought the kitchen was and Dean smiled a bit.
"I got it." He got up and pulled out the chair next to his. "Cream?"
"You got any liquor?"
"I think we might have some of that irish cream..."
"That'll do." His footsteps faded and she sank onto the wooden chair. Riley looked around the room at all the bookshelves and architecture of their home, suddenly noticing that there weren't any windows.
Anywhere.
Riley's heart rate sped up and she turned to see Dean coming up the hallway with a mug of coffee. "Riley." He moved behind her and sat down again, his eyes on her.
"Why aren't there any windows here?" Dean could hear trepidation in her question.
"We're underground."
Her hand moved to the mug. "What?"
Dean tried to gauge her emotion. "We're in a bunker. This is our home."
"Okay." The way she said that made his brow quirk.
"Riley, you're safe here."
"Okay." The brunette took a sip of her coffee.
"Look, I know you don't know us... but I swear, you're safe here." Dean waited until Riley met his intense gaze. "I won't let anything happen to you." He seemed sincere and her shoulders relaxed the tiniest bit. "Ry?"
"I was just thinking how stupid it was..." Riley murmured softly. "To get in a car with two men I don't even know after they had their guns on me and willingly let them take me to some underground bunker in another state in the middle of the night." Dean smirked a bit, hidden by his mug as he sipped his coffee. "Wow... I'd definitely be the first one dead in a horror movie."
Dean considered that. "I didn't even have to offer you candy." It was his attempt at a joke and her eyes twinkled.
"I'm... not gonna be the first one dead in this horror movie, right?" Her tone got serious.
"No." Riley watched him finish his coffee. "C'mon. It's late." He glanced at his watch. "Or really early. I'll walk ya to your room." Riley gulped down the rest of her rapidly cooling coffee before she rose with Dean. He reached out to shut the lamp down to the lowest setting before leading her to her room. Dean moved quietly as they walked and they stopped outside her door. He glanced inside, noting her ill fitting sheets. "You need some sheets."
"I'm fine for tonight. Really."
"Alright." He looked down at her. "You yell for us if you need anything." Riley nodded. "Night." He turned to go to his own room, leaving her staring after him.
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Hello all!
I had to work all weekend and tomorrow, but I wanted to get this posted for you guys. :) Please read and review!
CitrineMama