This is insane.

Sam gazed at the gray walls and small barred window of his holding cell for the hundredth time and tried to ignore a tickle of anxiety. He could sort this out. They always did. He and Dean had been in way tougher situations.

Except Dean wasn't here and that was part of the problem, and a major reason behind his growing unease.

Having been denied further entry by the receptionist on the second floor of the Archer Building, Sam had made his way back downstairs to get Dean. He'd figured they'd just hang around and stake out the building until the mysterious brunette came back outside; she had to leave sometime. Except when he'd gotten downstairs, Dean was nowhere to be found.

He also wasn't answering his cell phone. Sam had gone back to the car and waited. And waited. And waited some more. But still, no Dean.

When the woman had eventually exited the building, he'd hotwired his brother's car and followed her back to her very large home. Then, figuring there was nothing to be done about her just then, he'd taken down her address info and headed back to the Archer Building, hoping his brother had finally surfaced. But still there had been no sign of him.

Hours had passed and finally, in desperation, he'd decided to try to carefully contact the police. And of course it had all gone downhill from there.

It turned out his brother wasn't the only person missing. The brunette from his vision (who turned out to be one of the "Archer's" that the building was presumably named after) apparently had a twin sister and she had also disappeared from the building around the same time as Dean. And to top it all off, they had a nice shot of Dean on the building's video surveillance camera wandering around the front just around the time they suspected the Archer woman went missing.

Sam laid back on the bunk and put his arms behind his head, unimpressed and worried.

He was pretty sure the police hadn't figured out that the black Impala parked around the corner from the police station was Dean's- the stuff in the trunk was hidden fairly well, but a decent forensics team would probably find the hidden compartment in the trunk. Not to mention all the fake ID's in the console in the front...

Dean, where the hell are you?

Dani had felt Dean's tensions easing a bit when she'd jokingly suggested that he put his boots back on before they wandered around the cave, but he still seemed more tightly wound than before. And what they'd discovered hadn't done much to ease her own worries either.

They had found a section of wall that was recently caved in- they figured there had been an entrance there before that. And although they could feel a cool draft coming in from different sections of the mass of boulders, there was no obvious opening to be found now. They could only hope that when the sun came up and revealed some cracks, an escape route would become more apparent.

She lit one of the candles and sat down on the sandy floor, leaning against the rock wall. Dean flicked off the flashlight and sat down heavily beside her, sighing.

"This sucks."

"Yep."

"Are there a lot of caves around Albuquerque? I don't know the area that well."

"Yeah. There are hundreds." She frowned, looking over at him helplessly. Dean's eyes hardened briefly and then he leaned his head back against the rock.

"Great."

Sammy, you better be OK out there cuz I sure as hell don't know when I'll be getting out of here...

Dani wasn't trying to read Dean's emotions but they were coming through loud and clear nonetheless, probably because there was just the two of them and obviously tensions were running high. She just couldn't figure out what had triggered this heightened worry in Dean. Something earlier had clearly set him off and she wanted to ask him about it, but it seemed foolish to question him on his concerns in light of everything that had already happened to them. 'What's bothering you?' seemed like a ridiculous question at the moment.

Still, they'd been in the cave for a while before he'd started to seem truly concerned. Had she said something that had caused this worry, or had he just been in denial about their situation until now and a sudden realization of the seriousness of their situation had finally kicked in? Either way she was already missing the more cavalier Dean of a few short hours ago and she desperately wanted him back. Somehow, his lightheartedness had kept her from getting as worried herself.

She didn't know what to say, but she wanted to try to get things back on more steady ground again. "I... are you cold? I should give you back your jacket-"

"No, I'm fine. I'm sure you need it more than me." His eyes lingered on her tank top a little longer than was necessary and she felt the beginnings of a blush forming.

"Uh, OK. Thanks. Again."

He nodded distractedly and looked away, and all she wanted to do was change the dismal mood that seemed to enveloped them. "You know, it seemed pretty drafty over there. I bet when the sun comes up, we'll see a million little holes and we can figure out how to break through... don't you think?"

He turned his head and looked at her from the corner of his eye. He let out a deep breath and smirked, turning to her fully. "I'm being a downer, aren't I?"

She laughed. "Dean, I think under the circumstances..." She shrugged her shoulders.

He nodded. "Yeah. I'm just a little... I'm worried about my brother."

Her brows went up in surprise. "You're trapped in a cave with a stranger and you're worried about your brother?"

He laughed. "Yep."

And with the realization of how ridiculous it sounded, he felt himself relaxing a bit. He probably was over-reacting. As much as he wanted to protect his little brother, he knew that Sam could take care of himself for the most part. Not to mention there had been no warning signs to indicate the demon was coming anywhere near Albuquerque; they'd checked that out before they'd arrived.

He looked over at her with a chagrined smile. "I guess... Well, we've been through a lot together, Sam and me. Sometimes I can't help but get all older-brothery."

She nodded, smiling. "It's not like that's a bad thing. Sam's lucky to have someone who cares so much." Once again, she couldn't help but feel envious of Dean's closeness with his brother.

Dean sensed a sadness behind the smile but didn't say anything. He figured it was true what they say: Money can't buy happiness. And you can't pick your family. He guessed he'd gotten lucky in that department.

He yawned and rubbed his eyes and Dani eyed him sympathetically. "You need more sleep, Dean."

"So do you. It's the middle of the night."

She nodded and yawned herself. "Yeah, I guess you're right." She eyed the blanket on Dean's other side warily, uncertain how to proceed. When she lifted her eyes back to Dean's, he grinned and waggled his brows suggestively.

"So, care to snuggle under our one and only blanket?"

She laughed nervously and pulled his jacket a little tighter around her. "Um, well... If you don't mind me keeping it, I think your jacket will do me fine."

"Dani, I was just joking about the snuggling stuff. You're safe with me." He eyed her uncomfortably and then reached for the blanket. "I swear I'd never-"

"I know you wouldn't..." She trailed off, embarrassed at cutting him off like that. "I just think I'll be fine with this... unless you want it back?"

He smirked, deciding not to force the issue. "No, I don't want it back. At least not until we get out of here. It's all yours." He pulled the duffle bag between them. "But we can at least share the pillow."

She yawned again and gave him a small, grateful smile. He laid down at one end of the bag and pulled the blanket over himself. "You got the candle?"

She grabbed it while she curled up at her end of the bag. "Yup." She blew it out and moved it to the side. "G'nite, Dean. Thanks again for the jacket."

"No problem. G'nite." He rolled onto his side, being careful of his wounded shin. "And if you get cold, feel free to share the blanket."

"Uh, thanks. I will."

Dani hoped she hadn't unintentionally insulted him by turning down his offer of "hospitality", especially since they'd obviously be a lot warmer with the combined heat of two bodies under the blanket. In fact, Dean probably would have laughed if he'd known that she really had no fears that he would try anything with her- she was actually more worried about herself.

She had to acknowledge that she had been instantly attracted to him physically, and she was growing more attracted to him the longer they were together. She swallowed heavily, trying to ignore the urge to crawl in beside him right now. It wasn't helping matters that his head lay less than a foot from hers at the moment.

And because they'd only been trapped together for such a short time, she rationalized that it couldn't be the man that was evoking these feelings in her; it was the situation. That and the fact that, had she made it back to Boston as planned, she would probably be single again right now. So that was all this was: the result of a confluence of unusual events. It was all just making her off-kilter and subject to strange... longings.

Dani suddenly felt like she was doing Dean an injustice by dismissing his appeal so readily, and her mind began to backpaddle. Afterall, it wasn't like he was unattractive- he was definitely a good looking man, even in his current scraped-up and dishevelled state. And more importantly, she had liked him almost instantly. Clearly he knew how to work the charm angle; she wasn't naive. But she also got a good feeling from him- he gave off a vibe of reliability and trustworthiness.

Unfortunately, it wasn't his personality that was running through her brain just then. No guy should be allowed to have green eyes that beautiful. There oughtta be a law...

This last thought made her smile softly to herself as she finally succumbed to her exhaustion

A persistent tickle at his chin barely roused Dean from his deep slumber. He was so warm and comfortable, he'd forgotten he was sleeping on a bed of dirt.

He flicked at the annoying tickle again and then pulled the slight, soft body at his side a little closer, sighing contentedly when his hand found rest on her hip. When the slight, soft body at his side sighed in return and briefly rubbed a hand across his chest, his eyes opened wide and he froze in place, shocked at this new development.

While he couldn't see anything in the dark he could feel Dani pressed up against him, and in his sleep he had apparently turned partly towards her and slid an arm under her neck to accommodate her. Now, her face was currently nestled between his shoulder and his neck and it had been her hair that was tickling his chin. One of her arms was pressed between them while the other clutched at his chest.

As her shallow breaths whispered against his throat, his fingers tightened on her hip and he fought the urge to run his hand up her body and explore her subtle curves, her soft skin...

He grimaced to himself, remembering that he'd told her she was safe with him. The last thing he wanted to do was have her wake up to find herself being accosted. Although... She was the one who had snuggled up to him in the first place.

He gave his brain a mental shake. She was cold, genius. She's not offering you a free ride.

More than slightly aroused by how fantastic she felt against his body and completely frustrated by the fact that he was unable to do anything about it, he pulled the blanket a little tighter below her neck, deciding he could at least try to keep her warm. The arm he had underneath her curled up to rest on her shoulder, and he massaged it softly through his jacket before he became motionless once more. Tilting his face into her hair, he breathed in the enticing scent of her and groaned lightly as he tried to force himself to relax and go back to sleep. Unfortunately, his mind kept circling the same maddening thought:

How can something feel this good and suck so much at the same time?