Nothing else Matters

Chapter Three: The Coincidental Conundrum

Dean killed the engine letting them roll to a stop, gravel crunching beneath the tires.
Eyes already scanning the terrain in full hunter mode, he grunted at the mess below.
It was an over grown, abandoned piece of crap with no tactical advantage in their favor.

Sam took up the binoculars, sweeping the area carefully.

Pulled off to the side, about a hundred yards up from the entrance to the quarry, was a chalky gray Plymouth 'Cuda, circa 1970.

He nudged his brother and pointed with a jutting chin. Dean snagged the field glasses from him and his brow quirked as he spotted the car.

A low whistle cut through the silence. "Chicks got good taste in wheels."

Sam rolled his eyes in annoyance.

Following his brother's lead in exiting the Impala, he pulled the bags they'd filled beforehand from the back seat.

Loaded up, gazes clashing in a nod, Dean smirked.
It was time to rock and roll.

Sam held a sawed off with extra ammo on a belt slung across his body.

Dean hefted the pack onto his right shoulder, palming his .45 and signaled Sam with a hand gesture.

Sam took Dean's six, covering his back with the shotgun, the demon killing knife tucked away in the jacket lining's special pocket.

Their boots crunched in the loose gravel, muffled by their cautious steps as they slowly advanced.

Making it down to the pit a good ten minutes later, their ears strained for any new sound as eyes narrowed against the setting sun.

A sudden skittering of rocks had them both shifting as one, swiftly to the left.

The shocked expression on the diner girl's face had them lowering their weapons, dropping their stance in an attempt to ease her alarm.

"I know I'm trespassing here guys but… don't you think that's a little excessive?"

Dean snorted softly. She stood a few feet away on an incline, holding a camera with a bag draped across her body, hitting her hip. Her hair was a tangled mess around her head and she had a bleeding line adorning her cheek. Not exactly monster material.

He settled for scowling at the woman as he flicked the safety on and tucked the gun away in his waistband.

"You got that right sister, time to vacate the premises."

She obviously took offence to his tone as noted by her shoulders squaring, a glare sliding into place behind her eyes (which were green if anybody wanted to know).

"Look, shoot me if you want, but I am not leaving without searching this place from bottom to top. My brother is missing and I'm not going anywhere until I find him."

Dean felt that deep.

Sam must have seen it on his face because he shifted uncomfortably beside him.

The younger Winchester cleared his throat, putting his best puppy eyed expression into play.
"We get that, we do" he insisted when she made to speak "but it isn't safe for you to be out here. Your brother wouldn't want you to get hurt looking for him, would he?"

The girl's left brow dipped and Dean could have sworn her eyes went a hard blue for just a second there.

She smirked, brushing at her face. "The only danger I've seen so far has been you two and the sticker bushes. I've been out here for over an hour now." She slid down the rest of the way and came to a stop seven feet in front of them.

Now that he had a moment he realized she was still dressed as she was in the diner, wrong buttoned blue shirt over gray tank, jeans and dark brown hiking boots. She shook out her hair with a grimace, pulling a briar stem from the mess of waves that tumbled down her back. She was missing the glasses and looked more like nature photographer than nerd now.

The girl was kind-of pretty, in the classical sense.
Dean grinned slowly and she cocked her head to the side, looking from him to Sam.

"Is he okay?"

Dean scowled as Sam smiled awkwardly. "Yeah, just an idiot" he huffed.

She tried to hide her amusement but Dean had already turned to give his brother a 'shut the hell up' glare.

He was ignored of course. Sam stepped around him holding out his hand, gun pointed at the ground with his left.

"I'm Sam, this is Dean" he offered as she acknowledged his proffered greeting.

Her grip was firm "Kim, nice to meet you."

Sam stepped back and continued "If you don't mind me asking…" He waited for her nod.
"Why are you searching for your brother out here? Didn't he go missing closer to town?"

Of course he already knew the answer but he wanted to prove something to himself. He could be wrong.

She wrinkled her brow though and sighed. "You guys aren't county workers are you?"

He smiled, almost pleased it seemed. "Uh, no we're not." He glanced at Dean who flipped out his badge with ease, Sam doing the same.

She eyed the names "Agent's Young and Johnson?"

"Yeah, well… the local fuzz didn't seem too concerned about this" Dean tucked his fake ID back into his pocket as he edged closer "…but that's not us. We're not overly impressed with Barney Fife either."

She took a shaky breath, "That's good to hear. My brother Kevin… he isn't like that." Her earnest gaze met with each of theirs and they knew she believed that with her whole heart. "He wouldn't just run off without his wife."

Dean looked at his brother and frowned.

"He's a trucker sure, but that's just a job. He loves my sister-in-law way too much to leave her behind."
Her eyes were closed and she clamped down, jaw twitching as she shook her head.

So he wouldn't leave without his wife but he would leave his sister in the dust? That sounded …familiar Dean thought.

The girl, Kim, pushed her hair back "Anyway, I did some digging and found this place, figured it's a good spot to stash a bright, cherry red semi and trailer full of frozen chicken." She grinned toothily at them and Sam had to suppress his chuckle.

Then he nodded in agreement.

Dean looked from the girl to his kid brother and rolled his eyes. "If you can keep quiet and out of the way, we'll let you tag along behind us."

Sam looked at Dean like he had grown another head, but Dean did his best to ignore him as Kim complied, falling behind them without a word.

The light was fading fast so they set out in the direction she hadn't started searching yet.

A few minutes later, when they had pulled far enough ahead, Sam slipped up beside Dean.
"What the hell are you thinking?" He hissed out, scowl plain on his face.

Dean shook his head. "She's looking for her brother Sam, she isn't just going to scamper off and leave it to the authorities. For all we know the whole Sheriff's department is in on this. It's better to stay together where we can protect her."

Sam glanced back at the girl who was pushing through a large tangle of brambles in order to keep up with their long strides, uncomplaining, and had to concede. She looked like a stubborn one.

"Have you noticed the way she follows your hand signals?"

Dean grinned back at their shadow and his eyebrows quirked as he turned back. Sam huffed at the look.

"So she's had some kind of training, maybe her brother is ex-military." Dean hissed back as they came to a ledge and he hopped down without waiting, sweeping the brush with the toe of his boot, wary of snakes.

Sam watched after his brother shaking his head.

Kim moved up beside him "You girls done whispering your secrets up here?"

She arched her brow at his pointed look and hopped down the embankment with a smirk.
Sam followed wondering what he'd done to get stuck with the two smart asses in front of him.

A few minutes passed and Sam caught up to the girl, keeping pace by her side. He glanced at her every so often, as if trying to figure her out.

She looked over and sighed. "What is it?"

Sam shook his head then opened his mouth in contradiction. "How did you know he was missing?"

Kim looked over her shoulder at him as they passed a narrow curve in the deer path. "He has a Facebook page; I keep up with him through that and texts. Lisa, his wife, also keeps us up to date." She shrugged missing the shared glance between the brothers at the utterance of yet another familiar name.
Sam couldn't really read Dean's expression in the growing dark.

"So he didn't check in?" He prompted.

Kim shook her head. Sam let the silence stretch after that, swallowing against the sudden dry mouth he was experiencing. She was toting around some weird kind of karma with her, making him feel the guilt he'd gained over the last few years in regards to his brother. Like Dean had said, coincidences didn't happen coincidentally, not in their lives anyway.

Kim followed Dean around the bend only to come out a few yards from where they had started.

There had been no sign of human traffic anywhere.

"Well that was a bust" Dean said as he swung his pack down by his feet. He sat on the open edge of the Impala's trunk as Sam dug around for a water bottle, handing it to his brother a moment later.

Kim sighed, shaking her hair off her neck as Dean uncapped the water and took a long drink.

The moon was hidden among the pines as crickets chirred in the tall grasses along the road beside them.
It was quiet otherwise, almost peaceful if not for the heat.

Dean drained the bottle and tossed it into the space behind him. Sam handed the girl another bottle that she took with a slight smile of thanks, trying not to feel the dirt and grit mixed with sweat and disappointment clinging to her like a second skin.

"I just don't get it" she said as she peered back into the gloom of the pit below.

Sam set his jaw, saying grimly "Kim, you need to consider the possibility…"

"No" It was sharp and hard as the glare she cut at him.
"He is my brother and I will never stop looking. If I don't see a body then he's not gone."

Her teeth clenched and Dean watched her, his eyes filled with a weary understanding. Then she shook her head and faced them again, her shoulders squared. "See you around."

Then she was moving back up the rock-strewn lane with a resolute stride, towards her own car, leaving the two men in an awkward silence.

Dean just pushed out a reverential "huh" and stood, closing the trunk with a heavy hand. Crossing to the driver's side he watched as she drove off in a cloud of dust, shaking his head as he climbed into his beloved Baby.

Sam didn't want to get in the car after that, but he took a deep breath and folded down into the seat.
The silence on the drive back was inevitable.

.o0o.

When they pulled up to the motel the gray 'Cuda parked up by the check-in office was easily spotted.

Dean met Sam's gaze for the first time since they'd left the quarry.

"Small towns" was all he said as he parked a few spaces down from their room.

Dean moved to the back and let Sam grab his bag, watching as his little brother headed inside with slumped shoulders. His jaw ticked as he leaned in to grab his own duffle, white knuckling it as he slammed the trunk shut.
She was standing there when he looked up; sending a strange shiver over his spine, too many happenstances in a short amount of time does that to a hunter.

Kim tilted her head to the side as she stared back a few doors down from their own.
"The government can't afford to put you guys up at the hotel?"

Dean glanced at the mint green painted brick and peeling salmon pink doors of the motel and shrugged "Nah, they like to cut corners where they can."

She gave him a half smile, in parts polite and wary at the same time. He realized that this all might seem weird for her as well, as long as she wasn't some evil bitch come gunning for the Winchesters that is.

She nodded, making to enter her room when she paused. "I didn't say it earlier, but thanks for letting me tag along today. I know it probably went against protocol…"

Dean hefted the bag up and strode over to the paved walk along the rooms, a few feet away from their door. She really didn't seem like she knew them, but he had to be careful.

"I understand the need to see your family safe. Hell, I've been there a time-or-two myself. There's no need for thanks, I just wish we'd found something. Cristo willing you know?"

Kim smiled at him, her expression telling him she found the use of Crist's name in Latin a bit odd, but her eyes didn't go dark and he felt pressure fall away at the passing of that test.

She gave a shake of her head and spoke "Anyway… tell Sam sorry, about earlier. I didn't mean to snap at him like that. It's just… all this." She gestured with her hand and let out a self-depreciating chuckle.
"I'm not my best at the moment."

Dean shook his head "No, I really understand what you are going through and it's not easy. He can be a real downer at times, what can I say."

She smiled again and bobbed her head, key smacking the plastic oval key ring as she placed it in her pocket. "Thanks Dean" she said softly before ducking into her room and shutting the door.

Dean sighed, staring up at the neon vacancy sign for a long second.

As he strode into the crappy room he shared with his kid brother he called out "I get first shower!"

.o0o.

Sam was clacking away at his laptop, set up on the small round table by the window, when Dean stepped out from a rolling cloud of steam clutching a towel round his waist.

"Got to hand it to them, the water pressure here is actually pretty good."

Sam glanced up "Is there any hot water left?"

Dean grinned. "You might want to give it a minute" he said digging through his duffle for a shirt.
Finding it with a quiet "aha" he strode back into the bathroom with the dangling bulk of clothes in his right hand.

"You know diner girl…" Sam paused, his mouth in a frown before he corrected himself "…Kim, did pretty thorough ground work. Karen, from the library, said she was in there from opening to close for the last three days."

Dean walked back into the room barefoot, now wearing jeans and a gray T-shirt. He popped the top off a beer he grabbed from the mini fridge, taking a healthy swig.

He shrugged as he sank onto the corner of Sam's bed. "She's determined to find her brother. That kind of motivation can make things happen Sammy."

The tension that was threading through him from earlier was back just like that. He watched the elder Winchester from the corner of his eye, but Dean didn't seem to be rubbing the last year in his face just then, he only looked worn and weary.

"Dean…"

"She said sorry by the way" Dean cut in, snorting at his little brothers questioning stare.
"For snapping at you earlier man, she apologized."

"Oh"

Dean moved, crossing the floor to pick up some papers from their pile of research and a beef jerky stick from the bag in his chair. He ambled over to his own bed then and flopped down to read.

Sam felt pressure shivering along his nerve endings, weighing down on his shoulders heavily. Dean's bull headed attempt at ignoring the situation between them was getting to him in a bad way. He needed to get out from under the oppressive atmosphere.

Huffing silently, he stood. "I'm going …for a walk or something."
Not waiting for a response he quickly stepped out into the sticky night air.

With a barrier between them Sam could finally breathe. He stood there a moment just trying to shake off the constrictions.

He debated going for a walk but he didn't really want to be alone with his thoughts and he couldn't go back in that room, not yet anyway.
The scuff of a shoe on pavement drew his attention and Sam looked up across the parking lot, spotting the girl from earlier. She was headed towards the diner and Sam made the snap decision to follow her. In a hunters life there were no coincidences but she was so far from the way Meg and he met that he really didn't think she was a set up. Still it would do them good to make sure.

His long legged stride had him overtaking her quickly and he saddled up beside her, his hands in his pockets to show a non-threatening stance. "Hey" he called slowing up to match her pace.

She glanced up startled, veering away slightly from his towering form.
"Oh, hey… um, sorry about earlier…"

She smiled awkwardly and he couldn't keep the grin off his face. A dimple appeared in his cheek as he shook his head. "No problem. I understand completely… he's family." It came out as a sigh and her brow twitched up.

"Sounds like we both have family issues." She said knowingly, her lips in a thin sardonic smile.

Sam met her gaze and his head cocked to the side in question but she shook hers to the negative, not ready to talk just yet. "You hungry?"

He followed her gesture to the eatery before them and he nodded, the glow of the lights glinting off his eyes. "Yeah" he said as if just realizing his hunger "I could eat."

A/N: A little longer than previous chapters. Hope you like it. I have people to draw from in real life so these characters are not 100% made up. I didn't change their names to fit the story either so that's a little fun fact there. Please leave a review if you enjoyed it! Thanks!