New chapter! And I'm sorry if Dean seems a little out of character for one part... I thought I would add that family part because I can see him kind of saying something like that... again, sorry if he's a little out of character.

Chapter 20

Sam turned his head toward the motel room door when he heard a light knock. Glancing at Dean, he saw he was still asleep, so he stood up and moved toward the door, opening it, and saw Summer standing there with two coffee cups in her hands. "Hey, Sum."

"Hey," she stepped inside. "I brought you some coffee," she looked over at Dean and saw him lying on the bed. "How's he been?"

"He has been good. Took some more painkillers, and basically fell right asleep," Sam told her as he took the coffee from her after she stuck her arm out to hand it to him. "Have you seen my dad?"

"No," she shook her head as she took a seat on the edge of the empty bed. "I think he left. I haven't seen his truck for nearly two hours."

Sam gave a small nod, expecting it. "Just like him. Just takes off without telling us."

"Do you think he'll try to look for the demon alone again?"

"Probably," he sighed and looked down at the drink, and held it in both of his hands, letting the heat warm them. "I knew he wouldn't stick around."

"I also had a feeling he wouldn't stay. He probably feels like if he does, he can't, like Dean said, be reckless when your around."

"He shouldn't just take off like this, though," Sam stood up after setting the drink on the table. "He shouldn't leave us out of this. We're in this together, so why not do it together?" he sighed and stood by the wooden dresser, placing his hands on top of it and lowered his head, shaking it slightly. "I don't… I don't understand him sometimes. Doesn't he get that we're all part of this, and we should kill the bastard together?" he lifted his head up and turned it to see Summer's hand on his shoulder, before meeting her eyes.

"Of course he gets it, Sam. This is why he is doing this. He wants to keep you both save. You and Dean are all he has left. He does not want to see you die because of this demon," she said softly. "He feels like he needs to protect you."

"That's the thing," he turned around and faced her. "He may seem like he wants to protect us, but he sends us on hunting trips. He knows what we are hunting. If he really wanted to protect us, he wouldn't do that."

"That's true," she agreed. "He probably finds something weird, sends you there to take care of it without actually looking into it himself. He just… he knows you two are tough and wouldn't give up without a fight. He has taught you both how to be strong, and how to fight, and take care of yourselves. He knows he doesn't have to worry too much."

"Then maybe he should worry. I mean look, Dean is still hurt, and he can't even be bothered to stay for a while longer while he heals?"

"Talking 'bout me?"

They looked over toward the bed when they heard Dean's voice.

"Hey, how are you feeling?" Summer asked walking to him and sat down on the edge of his bed.

"I feel like crap, to tell the truth," he answered her as he sat up slowly. "What're you talking about?"

"Dad," Sam replied.

"He's gone, isn't he?"

Sam nodded in reply.

"That's a shocker," Dean said sarcastically. "Hey…" he noticed the coffee cups. "Where's mine?"

"I wasn't sure if you were awake, so I only got two…" Summer answered. "I can go and get you a cup, if you want?"

"I'll go get it," Sam offered. "I need to stretch my legs anyway," he stood up and headed for the door after grabbing his jacket off the back of the chair by the table. "I'll be back soon."

The two watched him leave, and then looked at each other, not knowing what to say.

"So…"

"So…"

Summer chuckled a little, and Dean gave a small smirk when they spoke at the same time. She brought her drink to her lips and took a sip before lowering her arm back down to rest on her lap, letting her hand hang loosely off the edge of her knees.

"I uh, heard you," Dean started, unsure how to start this type of conversation. "Back at the hospital, when I was in a coma, I heard you talking to me."

"You did?" she asked surprised.

"Yeah," he nodded. "I read somewhere that people can still hear things while in a coma. I'm sorry…"

"Sorry for what?"

"For what you went through… the whole accident. I'm sorry you found out the way you did, and I'm sorry we worried you."

"You don't have to be sorry," she told him. "Sure I was worried, but I knew you three would pull through. You're fighters."

"Yeah, I guess we are," he agreed. "I'm glad you weren't part of it," he added a moment later. "If you were involved… I wouldn't have forgiven myself because I had let you come. If you had been hurt or even killed…" he trailed off lowering his eyes to his hands and saw the cuts on them from the glass. Her hand overlapped his, causing him to lift his head up and his eyes met hers.

"Dean, you can't do this to yourself," she said softly.

"Do what?"

"Blame yourself for what happens, or happened to other people. I know you are caring and want to protect everybody, but you need to stop and take a breather. I am a fighter, too, and I wouldn't have given up without a fight. You should know that," she said bringing her hand back to her lap.

"You are a fighter," he agreed.

"Dean?"

"Hmm?"

"Do you ever wonder what life would have been like if the demon never killed your mom?"

"Sometimes," he admitted.

"How do you picture life if none of this happened?"

He lowered his gaze to the carpeted floor, and just stared at it for a moment before locking eyes with hers again. "I picture my parents in the yard watching me and Sammy playing with the football, and my parents sitting on the steps with my dad's arm around her, holding her close, both smiling. I picture Sam finishing law school, marrying Jessica like he planned too and them starting a family…" he trailed off, the thought of what life could have been like pained him.

"What about you?" she asked softly, noticing the expression on his face.

"I hoped to start my own family…" he replied quietly. "Marry someone who would mean the world to me. Have kids and grow old with her, watching my kids growing up, and them having their own children." He gave a short laugh. "I guess it would be more like wishful thinking…"

"Hey," she reached out and gripped his hand lightly in hers. "That could still happen, Dean. It's not wishful thinking, ok? You can still have that life. It's not too late."

He gave another short laugh. "If any of that happened, that would be a miracle."

"It will happen," she told him. "Once this demon is dead, we all can finally live a life we want; demon free."

"It will never be demon free. There will be others. It will never be over," he sighed. "We'll never be able to just relax at home like normal people."

"Who wants to be normal, anyway? Normal is over-rated," she said trying to lighten the mood.

He chuckled. "Well, I guess that's true. Normal is over-rated." He cleared his throat. "Anyway… I'm gonna go take a shower…" he said pulling the covers off him, and swung his legs over the edge, and then slowly stood up. "Tell Sammy to just leave my drink on the table," he said once he reached the bathroom after grabbing some clothes out of his duffle bag, and shut the door behind him without another word.

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The three walked along the parking lot of a store that sold cars, knowing they needed a rental while someone repaired the Impala. After they looked around for a replacement, they met with a middle-aged man who worked there and discussed some things before they decided to go with the black Toyota Tacoma truck.

"Man, this sucks," Dean mumbled, showing he isn't pleased with having to drive another car, as he climbed inside it after Summer got in, and Sam on the other side, being the driver. He fastened his seatbelt and sighed. "I am so going to kill the demons for ruining my car."

"It's not that bad, Dean," Summer glanced at him. "You'll survive with driving another car for the time being."

"Drive… right… with how Sam is being, I won't have a chance to drive," Dean said matter-of-fact.

"You're in no condition to drive Dean," Sam spoke up for the first time since they reached the truck.

"The only condition I am in is having cuts on my chest, Sam," Dean pointed out. "I am capable to drive."

"Ok, yes, you're capable to drive," Sam nodded. "I just think you should take it easy before getting behind the wheel again."

Dean sighed and looked out the window not saying another word.

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Two days had passed, and the three were surprised they couldn't find something to hunt while in Missouri, even though they knew Dean still needed some time to heal before he could start hunting again. They sat around the motel room, trying to find something, anything to keep them from jumping out of their skins out of boredom.

"How about another game of…" Sam started, but Summer interrupted him.

"No more games. I'm gamed out."

"What she said," Dean mumbled from the bed.

"Ok," Sam sighed leaning back in his chair. "What then?"

"I'm going outside for some air," Summer announced while she climbed off the other bed and grabbed her jacket.

"Want some company?" Sam asked.

"Nah," she replied with a shake of her head. "I'll be fine. I'll be back," she said opening the door and walked out, shutting the door behind her.

"How about…"

"No."

"You don't even know what I was going to say."

"All the games you've mention suck, so the next one you had in mind would too," Dean said closing his eyes.

Sam sighed and decided to read something so he leaned forward grabbing a magazine he had bought earlier that day off the table and flipped through it to a page that seemed remotely interesting.

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"Hey Sum, it's Sam again. Where are you? It has been almost three hours and you haven't called to let us know what you're doing. Call us as soon as you get this," Sam hung up the phone, letting it fall from his hand and onto the bed as he looked at Dean, and saw the worry on his face. "I'm sure she's fine, Dean. She probably lost track of…"

"Can it," Dean ordered. "She shouldn't have gone alone. Especially now that we know there are more demons out there, demons that can possess anyone at anytime."

"She can take care of herself, Dean."

"Sure, she can take care of herself, but she can't fight off demons, Sam."

"She'll call soon, you…" Sam quickly turned to face the door when it opened, and Summer walked in. "You're back."

"Hey," she said closing the door and pulled off her jacket. "What's up?"

"Why haven't you called us back? We have been trying to contact you. You've been gone for hours and have not bothered to call," Dean looked at her. "Where were you?"

"Sorry, I had my phone off," she told him. "I didn't mean to make you worry."

"You're not supposed to turn your phone off," Sam said. "You're supposed to keep it on always."

"Well, sorry, I just didn't want to be bothered."

"Why? Are you ok?" Dean asked.

"I'm just fine," she answered with a nod. "I just needed to have some quiet time."

Suddenly Sam went flying into the wall, hitting his head on the edge of the dresser, causing him to become unconscious. From hitting the wall, the impact knocked down the lamp that hung on it, making it crash to the floor, shattering into millions of pieces.

"Sam!" Dean yelled, alarmed before quickly looking at Summer who looked just as alarmed, and he watched as she went flying into a wall a couple of seconds later. "Summer!" he yelled out and started to jump off the bed, but didn't succeed when something hard hit him in the head, knocking him out, and his limp body slid off the edge of the bed, hitting the floor with a thud.