A/N: As is the case with the other two chapters, I do not own Supernatural or its characters.

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"Dean!" Sam yelled, awakened by the sudden movement of the car. He blinked hard and stretched his arms out in front of him. Staring at Dean, he wondered what has caused his brother to come to such a sudden halt. Dean always tried to take care of his Impala. It was very unlike him to risk harming the brakes.

"Well?" Sam asked when it appeared that his brother had no intention of responding. His voice held a tone of annoyance.

Dean glanced at him and then turned his attention back to the road. He had a hard time deciding whether he should make a joke or just tell Sam the truth. He wasn't a sharer like his brother was. If something was bothering him, he'd much rather just keep it to himself and wait until it blew over. He could tell Sam if he wanted to. Sam would understand his fear. Still it would be an awkward moment. In light of this thinking, seriousness did not win out.

"Damn squirrels around here...There are too many of them. I'm going to find another road..."

Sam just stared at him in unbelief. "Dean, that wasn't even funny."

Okay, so Sam was right. Dean's humor seemed to have left him for the moment. He had his mind on many other things. He had tried his best.

Still Sam had no answer to his question. He hated that Dean did this, as if by avoiding the matter, Sam would forget. This might have worked when he was a kid, but he was older now. He knew when something was up, and wouldn't be distracted by his brother's joke whether it was humorous or not. He sighed in frustration, rubbing his hands over his face.

He was still somewhat asleep. If Dean did not answer him soon, he would consider going back to sleep. At least he had been able to sleep this time. He was thankful that he didn't have another nightmare. Good sleep was all too rare these days.

"Sleep well?" Dean asked, clearly making pointless conversation. He knew that Sam wouldn't be distracted from the topic, but still he had to try. He would tell Sam, he just had to get his own emotions under control first.

"Yeah," Sam answered.

"No nightmares?"

"Right, Dean. Look, what happened when I was sleeping? Who called you?"

Dean hated it when Sam got all psychic on him. Thinking about it again, Dean decided that Sam should know. Besides, he was tired of trying to avoid his brother's multitude of questions.

"Ellen called me just a few minutes ago."

"What'd she say?" Sam asked curiously. They talked to Ellen every once in a while. She knew more about hunting connections than they did. Ellen had been around the block a few times.

Dean looked at the road, trying to look like the call hadn't scared him to death. After all the years of hunting, he thought he wouldn't be afraid of anything. That was all before he learned more about the demon that killed his mother. With each new bit of information came many new unanswered questions.

"Ash just found out where the demon is," Dean confessed.

"Where?" Sam asked anxiously. Dean hated to discuss the topic of the demon, because he knew it set Sam on edge.

"Duluth, Minnesota," the older Winchester brother answered with a sigh.

"But that's where Jo is..."

"I know," Dean said quickly, the quivering in his voice revealing his emotion.

Sam sat back taking it all in. He hadn't expected to hear of the yellow-eyed demon. He should have been thinking about it. It had killed his Mom, Jess, and now Dad. Sam was shocked that after all these months of obsessing over it, he had forgotten. The desire for revenge was not burning inside of him. His thoughts turned back to Dean.

"Is that where we're going?" Sam asked.

"You catch on quick," Dean said as he handed him the road map. He smiled at Sam with the hopes of assuring him that everything would be fine. Even though Sam was older now, Dean still took the role of the older brother very seriously. He had made a promise to his father and to his mother before they died. Sam was his little brother and that was all there was to it.

"Dean?" Sam asked after a few minutes.

"Yeah?"

"You're scared, aren't you?"

Dean shrugged. "This is the demon, Sammy, of course I'm a little on edge."

"Yeah, but it also involves Jo," Sam observed.

"I know that, Psychic."

"And you care about her." Sam knew that he was crossing into dangerous territory. Dean's emotions were rarely discussed. Sam could expect a pummeling if he pursued this matter further in most situations. He thought back to his years in junior high when he pushed his brother too far. He had learned to be cautious.

Dean looked at Sam quickly. "No, I don't."

"Come on, Dean. You're rushing to her aid right now! You tense up every time I mention her. I've seen you flip open your phone to call her and then change your mind. You talk in your sleep, too, worriedly screaming her name. I just can't understand why you haven't sealed the deal yet."

"I'm not looking to 'seal the deal' with her, Sam," he responded with a fierce glare. "For one, her mother would kill me. Two, I don't want to seal the deal!" he exclaimed with disgust. "She's a kid, like a sister! She's not going to be one of my one-night stands! She isn't anything but a friend- an acquaintance, but I'll hunt down that yellow-eyed son of a bitch if he lays one hand on her. I'll escort him to hell myself!" Dean stopped, realizing that Sam was looking to get a rise out him and succeeded. He'd all but gushed to Sam.

"Damn it, Sam," he said as he looked at Sam's smug face. He just stared at him, lost in his thoughts, repressing feelings of mortification. He had shouted a little too much, argued a little too hard. It didn't sound like the truth, he knew. But then again, lies often didn't sound like the truth.

Dean didn't understand this. If he were talking about some chick from a bar, he wouldn't lose his cool. Of course he'd try to save everyone that he could. That was his job. Traveling several hours away to save a girl that he barely knew...was a bit excessive. Turning the car around and driving to Minnesota was his first instinct, however. Dean always followed his first instinct.

"Dude!" Sam yelled suddenly, awakening Dean from his thoughts.

Instinctively Dean turned his attention back to the road. He slammed his brakes quickly.

"That's great, Dean. Run over a senior citizen," Sam muttered.

Dean watched as the old woman crossing the street glared at him and then flipped him off. He simply offered his nervous smile. The situations he got himself into...

"Do you need me to drive or can you handle it?" Sam asked. Dean could sense the annoyance in his voice. I mean, sure, Dean had changed their plans on a whim, had avoided his brother's questioning gaze, making the car ride awkward, had almost run over a pedestrian...

Dean pulled into a gas station, and handed the keys to Sam. He opened his door, and shut it behind him firmly. With long quick steps he left the vicinity of the Impala. What was happening to him? He was distracted on the job, his humor had left him, and he didn't even find it humorous that he almost hit an old woman. When his brother criticized him, he had nothing to say, the phrases of insults swarming around his brain, refusing to come together in one coherent sentence. Something had to be done about this. Things could not continue as they were.

He had to go make a call.