A/N Still grateful to my great beta, FictionalNutter.
Chapter 3
When the Winchesters entered 'Holling's bar' (Dean firmly refused to call this place by any other name) the next morning, Ed was already sitting at the same table he had been the previous day. He waved at the brothers, inviting them to join him. The breakfast was delicious, and their companion friendly and entertaining, so Sam didn't mind the fact that Dean left most of the talking to him, concentrating his attention on the 'Shelly' serving them. To Sam's amusement, all his brother's attempts of flirtation were left unnoticed. The girl indeed smiled at him when she noticed his attention, but her smiles were studied courtesy rather than sincere interest. It didn't escape the youngest Winchester's attention that the waitress was upset about something, even though he had to admit she tried really hard to hide it. Although she was successful to a great extent, it didn't surprise him when they suddenly heard raised voices coming from the kitchen. After a moment Mandy walked out, stopped for a moment in the door, turned back and said angrily:
"Don't worry, I won't tell Mum. But I'm doing it for her, not for you!" She ripped off her apron and ran out of the bar, slamming the door behind her. Dean gaped at her when she passed him, and Sam realized with amusement that his brother wasn't really aware of how little attention the pretty waitress had in fact paid him.
"I don't know what has gotten into her." Ed also looked after the girl with surprise. Then he shrugged. "Well, anyway. Would you guys excuse me, Lady is waiting for me."
"A lady you say?" Dean sent him a knowing wink.
"Yeah. I promised her a walk, she's probably got impatient by now." He laughed and rose from his chair.
"See you later then," said Sam, shaking Ed's hand.
"Probably sooner than you think. This place's really a rathole." The young man laughed one more time, weaved his hand in a goodbye and disappeared behind the door.
"See, Sammy? A rathole, but still he managed to find a lady here," Dean smirked with mock jealousy.
After a moment of hesitation, Sam decided to ignore the fact his brother called him 'Sammy' again, and to put his brother's mind on the right track again.
"Come on, we need to go too if we want to take a good look at the surroundings of that lake before it gets dark."
"Alright," Dean agreed. "Besides, I'd like to drop in on Sophie on our way back."
"Is there something we forgot to ask yesterday?" Sam asked him.
"Don't know. Probably not. But I'd like to see how she's doing," Dean explained sheepishly.
"Dude, but you remember we're not real cousins?" Sam mocked him. "Admit it, you just hope she's going to cook for you again," he laughed.
"Don't tell me you wouldn't like that. That pizza was awesome, wasn't it?" Dean licked his lips on the memory. "And the cook even more," he added with a wide grin.
"Hey, you're not planning to flirt with a girl whose boyfriend's just gone missing!" Sam reprimanded his brother.
"Don't worry, Sam, I'm not going to do anything immoral," Dean assured him. "But you know, it would be kind of strange if Chad's cousins didn't pay her any attention in such a situation, right?"
Sam shook his head, again defeated by his brother's logic. "What about Mandy?" he asked, not wanting for his brother to have the final word. "I thought you were planning to ask her out."
"Shelly?" Dean smiled innocently. "I don't think she's in the right mood today. Besides, it's hard to ask a girl out if the only bar in the town is run by her father. Would be rather awkward."
"What about the obvious fact she didn't seem interested?" It was Sam who grinned this time. "Maybe you're not her type?"
Dean sent him a how-dare-you-say-such-heresies glare, which only made Sam's grin even wider. Neither of them said anything else though; they drank the rest of their coffees in silence, and soon after they were in the car, headed into the Alaskan wilderness.
After two hours of driving and getting lost three times, the Impala emerged from the thick forest, and stopped in a small clearing, surrounded with trees on three sides and opening on the lake on the fourth. All Dean's sarcastic comments about Sam's map-reading skills were immediately forgotten, and they sat in complete silence for a moment, just contemplating the landscape that appeared suddenly in front of them. The lake wasn't very big, but neither was it small. However, the monumental snow-covered mountains that rose over it made it look more like a pond. The peaks reflected in the water, merging into one, and the whole scenery was so surreally beautiful that it reminded Sam of one of these picture postcards which looked so perfect they must have been manipulated in some way.
"Hard to believe this one wasn't Photoshopped." Dean apparently shared his brother's thoughts.
Sam only nodded, still stunned not only by the beauty, but also by the magnitude of nature. Suddenly he felt so little and unimportant, which, considering his height, didn't happen often.
"Alright, we have a job," Dean reminded him after a moment. "We'll probably see this so much it'll make us sick." He smiled, seeing his brother's dreamy expression.
They left the car on the clearing, taking only their guns and the EMF with them, and slowly walked along the shore. About ten minutes later they heard a sudden rustle somewhere close, and saw a glimpse of a big gray shape among the bushes. It moved quickly, and before Dean had a chance to react it leaped from its hiding place and ran towards Sam.
"Sammy, a wolf!" Dean warned, reaching for the colt he had hidden under his jacket. To his dismay, Sam stepped forward, crouched and held out his hand.
"Dean, it's just a dog!" Sam laughed out loud seeing his brother's anxiety. He let the excited animal smell his hand. It wagged its tail and started licking his fingers. At the same time they heard someone calling.
"Lady, heel!" And after a few second Ed on a bike emerged from the trees. "Sorry, she's a little bit spoilt." The dog eyed its master, then returned its attention to Sam, who was scratching it behind its ears.
"Wait, THIS is your lady?" Dean asked, shocked.
"Yeah. Did you think I had a date?" This time it was Ed who laughed out loud.
Lady let Sam be for a while, and turned her attention to the older Winchester. Dean never was a big dog-lover. They reminded him too much of werewolfs and other similar creatures he hunted to feel perfectly comfortable around them. Nevertheless, he tried to hide his apprehension and let the bitch smell him.
"Is it Husky?" he asked Ed.
"No, it's Alaskan Malamute. But it's okay, most people can't tell them apart."
"They're both sled dogs, right?" Dean tried hard to ignore the wet rough tongue molesting his fingers.
"Yes, but Lady is a typical couch potato, she's never done a day of hard work," Ed answered him, looking at the animal with pride.
"I can see," said Sam. "She looks like a real lady. Don't you, pretty?" He smiled, and whistled gently in an attempt to divert the dog's attention from Dean. It was successful. Lady, happy that somebody was truly interested in her, wagged her tail even more energetically, and spread on her back, suggesting that nothing would make her happier than scratching her belly.
"So, you decided to take a walk too?" Ed's voice suggested he knew exactly what they were doing there.
"Yeah, we wanted to see the place Chad was last known to be in," Dean confirmed.
"It's not exactly here. The way the shore looks here, it would be even hard for him to hide with the camera. More to the east there is a perfect spot for birdwatching, I bet he went there. I can show you," he offered. He went first, leading his bike, and the Winchesters followed, but Lady soon overtook them. She disappeared behind some bush, but a moment later she emerged, and waited for them. She did it constantly, running forward, barking happily, romping around, but always coming back. Ed seemed to know their whereabouts quite well, so they didn't have to follow the shore, but walked in a straight line through the forest. A quarter later the lake came into their view again. Ed stopped and looked around, uncertainty written on his face.
"Are we lost?" Dean asked, noticing his expression.
"No, I'm sure this is almost the place. I just can't recall that tree over there." Ed pointed to a tall larch growing closest to the water, which was just being smelled by Lady. The young Native shrugged and stepped forward. The dog looked at him and barked. It circled the tree and barked once more, then trotted towards the lake, which formed a little bay there. The bank rose a bit, not really high, but quite steep. Lady stopped on this mini-cliff and gave out a long, hollow growl.
"Hey, stay there! Don't you think about jumping in, I've just bathed you!" Ed called, trying to catch the dog. However, he forgot about the bike lying in his way, and stumbled over it, almost falling to his knees. Sam, who was closer, leaned down and grabbed Lady's collar, but at the same time she barked again and leaped forward. Sam lost his balance and together they fell down into the lake.
"Sammy!" Dean yelled with terror, watching his little brother land in the water with a loud splash. Luckily for him the lake wasn't really deep there, and when Sam stood up the water reached only a little above his knees. Dean breathed a sigh of relief, thinking that it was just another reason why dogs couldn't be trusted. "You're okay?"
"Yeah, I'm fine. Just a little wet," Sam forced a laugh, trying to ignore the piercing cold.
"Oh, no, I'm so sorry, she's usually so well-behaved," muttered Ed at the same time, rushing to help Dean get Sam out of the water. "I've no idea what she saw there." He started taking off his jacket, but Dean was faster. He covered Sam with his own precious leather jacket, using the occasion to make sure his brother was really fine. Ed, seeing he wasn't needed any more, turned his attention back to Lady, who was awkwardly trying to climb the bank that was too steep for her.
"Damn it," Ed cursed. He started taking off his shoes, getting ready to go into the lake to help the dog, which already started to panic a little.
"Wait, I'll do it," Sam stopped him. "I'm already wet anyway."
Together they helped the poor dog out of the water, but even then the animal didn't cease to bark and growl in the direction of the lake. In the end Ed needed to pull it away on a leash. Investigating the surroundings postponed, they headed quickly towards the car. Since Ed had also got wet pulling Lady out of the lake, the brothers offered to take him home in the Impala. They loaded Ed's bike into the trunk, with Dean constantly yelling at Sam to get into the car before he got a cold, and trying to divert their friend's attention before he discovered the Winchesters' arsenal hidden beneath a false bottom. They ended up with quite a big part of the bike still sticking out, but at least there was no threat of losing it, so Dean decided to leave it the way it was. Luckily, he had a couple of blankets in the trunk, so he could put one under Lady to avoid staining the upholstery with water and mud. It wasn't that easy with Sam, who was too big for the blanket to cover him completely, so Dean sent his brother warning glances every time he got too close to the cream-colored walls and door of the Impala.