AUTHOR'S NOTE: no beta so again, please forgive terrible grammar, because I can read it a thousand times and not see it. This chapter is again PG although the overall story is MA.

Chapter 3

"Thanks man. I'm starving." Sammy grabbed the Styrofoam box from Dean's hands and made a beeline for the small table in the motel room. "I do wish you'd woken me up though. I would've liked to check out the town this morning. There's quite a lot of folklore in these mountain regions. Hey, you okay?"

Sam paused as he noted Dean's unusually quite behavior. Dean sat on the edge of the bed with his hands clasped together, elbows resting on his knees, and stared at the wall ahead of him. There was no response.

"Dean?"

"Hmm?" Dean glanced back at Sam with a startled expression.

"You okay?"

"Yeah. Fine."

"You don't look fine."

"Well I am so shut up and eat your breakfast."

Sam let it go though he wasn't fooled. It took him about two minutes to scarf down his meal. Dean still sat on the bed staring at the wall in a daze.

Sam stretched his long legs out in front of him and leaned back into his chair. "Dean, tell me what's going on."

Sighing and closing his eyes, Dean dropped his head forward in exasperation. A sharp retort sat poised on the edge of his tongue but when he glanced at his little brother, he bit it back. Sam was staring at him with a look of total concern. Dean had no defense against that look.

"I ran into someone I've met before."

"Who?" Sam leaned forward in his chair. His eyebrows drawn together with worry he continued, "We've never passed through this area before."

Dean hesitated. Then on a heavy sigh he whispered, "A girl."

"Oh." Sam's expression lightened, his eyebrows smoothing back into their normal position. "Why are you so upset by that?"

"Well, she's not just an average girl."

"You're gonna have to give me more details Dean. Was she possessed at one time or something?" Sam was beginning to get annoyed by Dean's clipped responses. He always had to drag information out of him.

"Nah. It wasn't work related."

"Ooooh." Sam rolled his eyes. He snickered then stopped abruptly and looked at Dean in confusion. "Wait. Why is she not average? You have never been this…shaken up by one of your conquests before."

Dean made a dismissive noise. "It was just different. She was…amazing."

He let his voice trail off when he saw Sam's astonished expression. Dean didn't blame him. He was astonished at himself that he'd managed to keep his obsession with Reagan's memory a secret for a year now. Outwardly, he hadn't acted any differently. He still did his job with the same level of devotion. He still went out for a beer in almost every town they stopped in. Hell, he'd even slept with a few women along the way in hopes that he'd be able to dampen his continued lust for Reagan. It hadn't worked.

"So what was it about this girl that made her so amazing?" Sam was honestly curious now. It was rare that he saw his brother act so earnest over a girl: once when Dean was 16 and then again a few years ago with Cassie, the girl he had liked enough to admit his occupation to and had then proceeded to dump him.

"Everything." Dean gazed at him seriously. He sighed and ran his hand through his hair. Shaking his head he explained, "I dunno exactly what it was. It was just one night, ya know? I met her in Indiana. You remember that energy vamp case?"

Sam nodded and Dean continued, "That night after we had wiped them out, I went to the laundry mat and I met her."

"You met her at the laundry mat?"

"Yeah." Dean bit out defensively. "She was a college student in town. Anyhow, we got to talking and dude, she was hot. Incredibly hot. So I figured, I'd make the most of a boring night. But it was more than usual. If the sex hadn't happened, I would have been okay with it. I could've actually just talked to her all night. That in itself was weird but on top of that, it was the best sex I have ever had."

"Well, that sounds like a good thing."

"Except that it made me not want to leave her." Dean looked up in time to see Sam's face soften.

Standing up, Dean began pacing around the room, his legs covering the short distance in three strides. He was amazed at how good it felt to finally get it out there. "But I did. With our job, man... I've been down that road. You know how Cassie was. She couldn't accept what we do. So, what choice did I have but to leave? I wasn't going to hang around there for a few days just to scare her off."

Sam simply nodded in agreement. He hated to admit it but they were pretty much deadlocked in their lifestyles.

"But I don't want to leave right now."

Sam's head snapped up when Dean spoke; surprised registered on his features.

"I know. Nothing's different and I probably shouldn't…but damn it Sam. Don't I deserve something good once in awhile?" And Dean had such an expression of longing on his face that Sam bit back his response. He had no defense against that look.

Instead, he nodded and said "Okay. We'll stay for awhile."

Dean gave a small nod back and leaned against the dresser. He stared down at the faded green carpeting. Silence filled the room as the brothers communicated without words. They didn't need to. They knew each other better than anyone. Dean had spent his whole life being tough; being a brother, being a father. Though he never audibly expressed his desires for a normal life in suburbia, quite the opposite, he usually criticized it in some joking manner, Sam knew it was there hiding under his brash exterior.

"So, what's the plan for today? Are you going to see her?" Sam broke the silence. The sound made Dean slightly jump. Funny, he wasn't normally the jumpy type.

"Well, when I ran into her, literally, she was with a guy. So I'm not sure what to do. Let's just chill for a little bit while I think things through."

Sam sat up straighter in his chair and slapped his palms onto his thighs effectively lightening the mood. "I'm okay with that. I'd like to do some looking around myself. And I need to buy some socks because somebody keeps stealing them."

Dean made a "pfftt" sound through his lips. "Dude, why the hell would I steal your socks? I don't want anything that's gone on your stinky ass feet."

The brothers spent the rest of the morning checking out little shops in the main area of town and buying supplies they were running low on. Dean picked up some rock salt while Sam bought some new socks and a plaid shirt. They drove around the outskirts of town scoping the land. They hadn't seen or heard of any unnatural events while talking with the locals so that made them feel a bit easier. Perhaps they could actually get a couple days of rest.

Lunch was a pleasant event, as it almost always was for Dean. The Mom 'N Pop Café (named just that) had mouth-watering hamburgers and Dean shoveled his into his mouth followed by thick french fries, licking his fingers afterwards in a show of satisfaction. Sam took his time eating his onion rings, watching Dean with a mild look of disgust.

"Aaah." Dean sat back in the booth and patted his extended belly.

"You're a slob, you know that?" Sam gave him a reproachful look.

"A happy slob." Dean flashed a lopsided grin. He then turned to glance out the window.

"Are you still looking for her?" Sam asked.

"What?"

"You've been looking around you constantly all morning like you're just hoping she'll pop up out of thin air."

"It's a small town. She might show up any time." Dean shrugged off the comment. Sometimes he didn't like Sammy being in head so much.

After paying the tab they drove over to the town visitor's center. Sam chatted with the volunteer on duty while Dean browsed through the pamphlets. There were indeed many hiking trails nearby along with wildlife lookout locations and waterfalls. Sam joined him and they studied a model of the town mounted on a table under a large plexiglass box.

"Cool. I'd like to build something like that." Sam commented.

Dean rolled his eyes. "You would, you nerd." He began walking towards the entrance, Sam on his heels.

"Did you get any stories out of the lady in the visitor's center?"

Sam looked up from his laptop at Dean. "No, just the one that we already took care of on the mountain. You'd think there'd be tons of legends in a place like this."

Dean frowned. It was unusual for them. No matter where they went, there always seemed to be something for them to hunt. The easy feeling he'd had this morning was shifting towards uneasiness. He ignored it and tried to think positively.

The afternoon continued as the morning had. They drove around stopping to look at anything worth seeing. The town was small so there wasn't much more to see but whatever kept them out of another motel room was suddenly riveting. Dean discovered where the laundry mat was so he could go back later. Eventually daylight started to fade and they could no longer avoid heading back to the room.

Once they were back, Sam flipped through the television channels getting ready to settle in for the night. He stopped on an old western with Steve McQueen. Dean wondered whom Sam thought he was fooling. Within minutes of Dean's departure, the tv would be on a skin channel. Dean kept his back turned to Sam and tried not to laugh.

"I'm heading out."

"Alright. See you in the morning?" Sam inquired.

Dean tossed him an annoyed look. "I'm just going to do laundry. I have no more plans than that." There was a pause. "But just in case, don't wait up."

Sam smiled and shouted after Dean's retreating back, "Don't turn my clothes pink!"

Dean tried not to let the disappointment consume him. He hated it. It filled him with anger. It was a weakness, a flaw in his character he didn't approve of. Yet there it was, bitter in his chest.

The laundry mat was empty. It had been for the entire hour he'd been there. He had arrived with a feeling of hope, his stomach almost queasy from nervousness. It was crazy: Dean Winchester having nervous butterflies. It was such an unusual experience that it startled him.

The night was cool and the doors were open on the building. Since he was the only person using the machines the room was not that warm. He left his coat on as he paced around the room for the one-hundredth time. His hope was fading. Wasn't it foolish to wish Reagan had shown up? It had been a year since they met and given the indications today, she wasn't even available.

A buzzing noise filled the room as the first washing machine indicated it had stopped. Dean spun around in frustration and stomped over to it. Snatching the door open he yanked the clothes out and began throwing them into the nearby dryer. Why should he even care so much if she showed up? He didn't need any complications in his life.

He inserted money into the machine and turned the knob. Dean turned away with a sigh, defeat sinking into him. Leaning one hand against a fiberglass table, he closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose. Suddenly the hair on the back of his neck rose. He could feel someone staring at him, his body so in tune with the act. Dropping his hand and slowly raising his head, he stared at the front doors and for the second time that day, he froze.

Reagan was leaning against the doorjamb watching him.