With the Contents of Your Pretty Little Head

"Alright, let's get the hell out of here," Toni commented with a large grin on her face as Dean unlocked her door.

Dean's shoulders were still shaking when he eased his lithe frame behind the wheel, prompting Toni to ask, "What's so funny?"

"Nothing… Just… You're kind of… Different," he managed to reply with a calmer tone.

"I'm going to take that as a compliment," Toni replied suspiciously.

"And you should!" Dean agreed enthusiastically.

They then shared a laugh before falling silent. Toni took a deep breath and started watching the scenery pass during her rare opportunity to be a passenger in a vehicle.

After a short intermission Dean cautiously asked, "Now, I know that you and Sam went to Stanford together, but how did you two know each other? I mean, he never really talks much about school since he left, so… Uhh how'd you two meet?"

"Umm… We had a lot of classes together our Freshmen Year because we were both Pre-Law. One thing led to another and we became… Uhh… Friends," Toni awkwardly explained while idly scratching at her gauzed covered stitches.

"You became 'friends'? Because you don't seem to sound too sure about that," Dean questioned almost politely.

"Umm…" Toni started fidgeting in her seat and was completely at a loss for words. She never confided in strangers. Actually she very rarely talked about anything deeply personal with anybody because in her family, feelings were not discussed… Ever.

"Yeah we were friends… Uhh… Actually we were pretty… Umm… Close for a while," she explained somewhat evasively.

"Close? Wait! Are you trying to tell me that you and Sammy… You guys were 'friends with benefits'?" Dean questioned with just enough humor in his tone to keep him from sounding too crude and insensitive.

Toni let out a heartfelt laugh and had to wait a few moments before she had calmed herself down enough to reply, "Yeah that would probably be a good way to describe it."

"Wow…" Dean stole a glance at Toni and when he saw that she was glaring at him resentfully, he repentantly added, "Sorry, it's nothing against you… I just… Sam… He always seemed like 'Mr. Relationship' when we were younger."

"And 'friends' isn't a relationship?" She countered sounding mildly offended while crossing her arms tightly over her chest.

"No… I mean… Yeah… But usually…" Dean fought with his brain to find the words to explain what he meant before he dug himself a hole too deep for him to get out of with ease.

Dean, of course, had nothing against the 'Love them and leave them' lifestyle because he had found it difficult tying himself to one person until very recently. He would never tell her, but even when he was younger, it had been nearly impossible for him to be a one woman man despite him knowing that Addy was at home being completely faithful to him. But everything that he had been through in the twelve years that he had been apart from Addy helped him to evolve into a man that willingly wanted to give his heart to only one person.

Toni was thoroughly enjoying how much this conversation was making Dean squirm because she had never been one to give into a gender stereotypes and loved how that made people uncomfortable. She had had two older brothers and all of her cousins were male, so she had been raised as 'One of the Boys' and had never encountered a double standard with her parents. If her brothers had been permitted to do something at a certain age, Toni had been permitted to do so as well. 'No you can't because you're a girl' was a phrase that no one had ever dared to try to use with her in order to prohibit her from doing anything when she was growing up, so she never used her gender as an excuse either.

This frame of mind inevitably made relationships for her very difficult because guys never seemed to know how to handle a girl that refused to talk about anything remotely 'touchy feely'. (The irony of guys complaining about how annoying it was that girls always wanted to talk about their feelings and then them not wanting to be in a relationship with her because she refused to do just that wasn't lost on Toni. However, she would never allow it to change who she was at her core.)

"Well, I'll give you that about Sam," Toni finally relented more pleasantly. "But yeah, we were friends our Freshmen Year… Can we just leave it at that? Especially since going into further detail seems to make you feel uncomfortable?"

Dean snorted through a laugh and said more seriously, "Sure, but you keep saying 'Freshmen Year'… Can I ask what happened?"

"It's not a 'what', but a 'who'… Jessica happened," Toni answered with a warm smile as she turned her attention away from the window on her right hand side to make eye contact with him.

They were stopped at a deserted intersection and Dean just stared at Toni silently. When she finally quirked an eyebrow as if to non-verbally ask 'What?' Dean managed to ask sounding somewhat mystified, "How can you say that with a smile on your face?"

Toni shook her head and serenely answered, "Because Jess could give him what he wanted when I couldn't. I told him that I wasn't looking for a husband, but that's what he wanted to be… When he found it, I was happy for him. He moved on, I moved on and all was right with the world."

The sound of a horn honking brought Dean out of his trance-like state and he finally eased the Impala through the intersection towards the preapproved meeting point with Sam.

"Dean? Are you okay? Because I kinda like this whole being alive thing, so if I should be taking over the driving responsibilities, please let me know."

Dean once again found himself chuckling at one of Toni's tension easing jokes as he responded, "You think I'm going to trust you with my baby when you won't let me drive yours?"

"Touché," Toni jovially conceded.

They then continued the rest of their short journey in relative silence. Dean had actually courteously asked Toni if the music piping through the speakers was to her liking and had offered to find something else to listen to if it wasn't. Toni had no preference and was just happy that the music appeared to be enough background noise to appease Dean so that she didn't have to continue talking about any personal topics with the elder Winchester.

She had locked herself in her room to study for finals with her cell phone turned off so that she could pretend that the outside world never existed. Her roommate, Vanessa, had started spending the night (and most of her free time during the day) at her boyfriend's in order to avoid their tension filled dorm room. Vanessa was a drama major, so her finals consisted solely of a performance on the main stage for which she had already learned every line of dialogue. She understood why Toni was stressed out, so she was more than happy to leave in order to keep from being a distraction.

Toni normally didn't stress this much about school, but she had fallen behind a bit in the last little while because her mother had been granted leave and she couldn't pass up on the opportunity to spend some time at her family home with her. By taking off this week it meant that she not only had to get this week's work done, but she also had to finish that week's assignments as well. And if that wasn't enough work for her, she also had to start preparing for her finals as well. She always maintained good grades, but Toni felt like she should be going above and beyond since she was at school on a Scholarship and she wanted to prove that she not only deserved it, but that she had more than earned it as well.

"Sooo doing nothing this summer… Sleep and nothing else," She grumbled as she closed her eyes and laid back on her bed.

She turned on her cell phone for a quick check of the time, but was instantly tempted to check the numerous text messages she had received over the past two days. Then her heart sank when she saw the two dozen missed calls with accompanying voicemails because she didn't have to look at her call display to know who they had all come from.

"No… No… Can't," she told herself out loud as she set her alarm. "Just a fifteen minute break and then back to the books."

She was just starting to drift off to sleep for a short nap when she heard a knock at the door. She remained on her bed and curled into a tighter ball and tried to ignore the intrusion.

Maybe they'll just go away and think that no one's here.

"Toni? Toni, please open up. Vanessa told me you were here," Sam called out softly.

Hearing the desperation in his voice, Toni relented and got up off the bed and stretched as she made her way to the door because she would feel even worse if she ignored Sam in person.

"Toni… Hey, I've been trying to get a hold of you," Sam blurted as soon as the door opened.

She finished pulling the door open and with a soft smile nodded for him to enter the room.

"Sorry about the mess. Why don't you cop a squat on Vanessa's bed while I clean up?" She offered.

As Toni started cleaning up her mass of textbooks and notes, she heard Sam clear his throat purposefully.

He sounded very uneasy as she started to say, "That's okay… Umm… I've been trying to call you… And uhh… Text you…"

"Yeah sorry about that. I put myself on lockdown this weekend to catch up on all my class work after seeing mom last week," she explained with her back to him as she moved her pile of study materials onto the floor.

"You're mom finally got leave to come home? That's awesome," he commented quietly.

"Yeah it was a relief to see her in person. Sorry I've been such a shitty friend lately, but the trip home was totally last minute and things have been pretty crazy ever since," Toni apologized as she finally turned to look at him.

Sam had a soft scowl on his face, so Toni decided she should owed Sam a more 'heartfelt' apology. She took a step forward, held his face and kissed him softly. As she straddled his lap, she continued to kiss along his jaw line and made herself comfortable on his lap as she whispered between her kisses, "I'm sorry… I suck… I should have called you back before now… I promise I'll more than make it up to you… Forgive me?"

Sam wrapped his arms around her body and stood up as she tightened her hold of his waist with her legs and continued to kiss and nip at his face and neck. "Toni… Toni…"

He easily closed the distance between Vanessa's and Toni's beds and then gently sat Toni on her mattress. When she finally loosened her grip of his body, he eased himself out of her grasp and took a step back.

"Toni," he repeated as he straightened up and turned away from her. "Toni… We need to talk."

She sat up more erect and pulled her legs up so that she was cross-legged. "Okay, well you've got my full and undivided attention."

Sam ran his right hand through his hair and started pacing in the small space in front of Toni. "So… It's been a while since we've been able to talk…"

"I know and it's totally my fault," Toni interrupted sympathetically. "Did I mention that I've been an absolutely shitty friend?"

"You did… And you're not. You've had a lot going on," Sam continued as he looked into her seductively pouting face. "But…" He had to look away before he lost his nerve. "Man… This is harder than I thought it was going to be… Uhh… Well last week I went to a party, you know sort of a Pre-Finals thing, with Brady and… Umm… Well I kind of met someone."

"Really?" She questioned with an intrigued tone and a soft smile.

"Yeah… And then after the party we went out on a couple of times and…" He trailed off while his scowl remained steadfast on his face as he maintained eye contact with her. He searched her face for any change in demeanor as he tried to figure out what he wanted to say next and the best way to put his feelings into words.

Her smile never faltered as she finished, "So you want to put an end to our little arrangement."

"Umm… Yeah… Sorry," he answered while he searched her face for any signs of anger.

Sam looked like he was on the verge of tears, so Toni stood up on her bed so that she was taller than him. She pulled him close, pecked his lips and as she hug him tightly she replied, "Oh God Sam, don't apologize. I told you no strings and I meant it." She gently pushed out of the embrace to look him in the eyes. "She better treat you right or she'll have to answer to me because I always look out for my friends."

Sam stared at her completely dumbfounded for a moment. "So you're not… Not mad?"

She stepped down off her bed and picked up a notebook. "Sam, why would I be mad? I already told you that I'm not the marrying kind. I know you want that, so I sincerely hope that you find it with her. Now… I don't want to sound rude, but I have a lot of studying to do…"

"Right… Sorry… I guess I'll just go then," he stumbled over each word awkwardly as he walked towards the door.

"Hey Sam?" Toni called from her spot on her bed.

"Yeah Toni?" Sam worriedly answered as he half turned towards her.

"Maybe after finals are done and before I head home… Maybe we could grab a drink and you could tell me all about her," she offered with an encouraging grin.

He swallowed hard then hoarsely replied, "Yeah… Maybe." Then before he slipped out the door he whispered, "Goodbye Toni."

She continued to flip through her notebook and after an hour of not being able to concentrate, she picked up her phone and quickly scrolled through her contacts.

"Hello?"

"Hey! Kory! It's Toni… How quickly can you get over here?"

"I could probably get there in… About twenty minutes."

She let out a frustrated moan and he could hear her undo the zipper of her jeans.

"Umm… Make that ten."

She sighed then laid on her back. "Okay… But anymore than ten minutes and I'm starting without you and then you'll just have to sit and watch while you wait for your turn."

Kory made it to her room within five minutes.

When Toni felt the car stop, she woke up from her reverie with a bit of a start. She quickly surveyed their surroundings and noted that they were in a vacant rest stop.

"Sam should be coming just around the bend any minute now. I was just about to call him to check how far out he is," Dean answered Toni's unasked question.

She chuckled softly then said, "Sorry about spacing out on you. I honestly can't remember the last time that I daydreamed like that."

"It's okay; I'm used to Sam ignoring me with his nose in a book." Dean smirked as he motioned to the right with his chin. Toni followed his gaze and smiled a bit brighter at seeing Sam extract himself from her pickup truck.

She got out of the Impala and while she was in the middle of stretching, Sam tossed her the keys to her truck. She just barely managed to catch them with her right hand before they collided with her upper arm.

"Glad to see you brought it back in one piece," she joked as she turned to join Dean at the trunk of his car to retrieve her baggage.

Sam reached around her to pick up the handles of her bag as he replied, "I handled a lot nicer than I expected it to."

"Well I keep it well tuned," she replied smugly as she gently reclaimed her bags to carry them to her truck. "So… Where are you guys headed from here?"

"I heard something about some ghouls in Southwestern Wisconsin," Dean commented as he leaned on the trunk. "And then I was thinking that we could take a little detour into Iowa…"

"Of course you did," Sam grumbled.

Toni looked between both of them after she finished placing her bags in a secure box in the bed of her truck. She was going to ask what was so interesting in Iowa, but decided against it because that would be verging on becoming personal. Instead they all just stood beside their vehicles staring at their feet awkwardly.

"What about you Toni?" Sam finally broke the silence, causing her to look up from her hands that were playing with her keys on the ring.

"Me? Oh… I was just going to head back into Mississippi to see if I can retrace the steps of the thing that led me here in the first place."

"Really?" The Winchesters asked in unison.

"Really… Once we got the truth about Valerie, I got to thinking that if they can change when the moon isn't full… Then maybe the trail I was following went cold because I was looking for the wrong patterns. I mean… What if something bit her and I followed her instead of it?"

Sam perked up a bit and stated, "That could be quite dangerous. Why don't we join you?"

Toni immediately noticed how Dean slumped over and looked like he was going to object, but he stopped himself before uttering a word. Toni felt for him because she could tell that whatever was in Iowa was important to Dean, so she dismissively replied, "But then again it could be nothing because the trail pretty much went ice cold before Valerie finally started up her antics here… It'll probably be nothing, so if you guys have a lead on some action in Wisconsin, I'd say you're better off to go there. This is most likely just a dead end."

The stance of each Winchester brother shifted quickly and when Toni noticed that Sam now looked like she had backhanded him, she added, "But thanks for the offer. If it looks like it might be something, I could always call you."

Sam nodded then took a step forward and passed her a folded piece of paper. Toni slowly took it out of his hand and let her hand linger as their fingers touched.

"I figured that you can't call me unless you have my number," he explained quietly as he focused on her hand touching his own.

Overwhelmed by her feeling of gratitude at having someone who was offering her any form of support during her crazy crusade, Toni pulled Sam into a tight hug. She didn't expect to ever use his number, but she still said a heartfelt 'Thank You' into his chest.

After a few moments she realized what she had done and she freed herself from his arms saying, "Thanks again. I promise, I'll call if… When I need backup."

Sam nodded then took a single step backwards. They stared into each other's eyes and then Toni turned away saying quickly, "Good luck in Wisconsin."

"Yeah… You too… In Mississippi."

After she reached the driver side door, she looked back at the Winchester brothers and called out, "It was nice to finally meet you Dean! Keep out of trouble you two!"

They both smirked then waved as they got into the Impala.

"'Keep out of trouble'?" She repeated to herself in a mocking tone. "Gah! How lame are you Toni?"

She waved one last time at the brother's then rested her head on the steering wheel.

No… No Toni… You don't… You DON'T, you know that! Now start the fucking truck and let's go. Straighten up, damn it! She instructed herself as she groaned with her forehead still resting on her hands that held the steering wheel in a death grip.

When she finally eased her truck into reverse, she had to slam on the brakes because her path was completely blocked.

"What the…?"

Her passenger door opened and then she heard, "So turns out that the ghouls have been taken care of… Umm… How'd you like some help with your werewolf?"

Toni stared at Sam and asked through a rasped whisper, "What about Dean?"

Sam made himself comfortable in the passenger seat and answered, "Since Wisconsin turned out to be a bust, we thought that I could help you while he took some time off with Addy and Toby."

"In Iowa?" Sam nodded with a grin, so Toni smiled and said, "Alright then… Umm… All of my research is behind my seat…"

As Sam shifted to look at her notes, Toni turned to wave 'Goodbye' to Dean, but she was met only with the taillights of the Impala as he sped off.