Full of Metaphors:

Toni closed the passenger's side door of her truck with her hip as she juggled the paper bag in her arms with a heavy sigh escaping her lips. She now felt like she finally understood how Will and Alex had felt when they had tried to console her after the deaths in their family because she was starting to feel beyond useless when it came to erasing the pained expressions on either of the Winchesters' faces since the three of them settled at Rufus' cabin following Bobby's untimely death.

Although Toni was sure that her brothers were aware that she loved them greatly, she wasn't certain that they truly understood how much she had appreciated having them in her life, especially during those difficult times. Both Alex and Will had been willing to overlook their own sense of loss to do whatever they could to help to ease their younger sibling's suffering after their mother's passing without a single word of complaint. She had made sure to head back to Stanford as soon as it was humanly possible after Alex's funeral so that Will wouldn't have to worry about cushioning her feelings so that he could focus on his own mourning because she didn't think that it was fair for him to put her feelings before his own. She was able to mourn in her own way over the summer, which meant that she had to dodge a few weird looks from Vanessa at her new intense focus on her school work. Of course she had made sure to attend enough social functions to keep her roommate from complaining, but she never hesitated to cancel any plans with anyone if William called to 'just chat' or popped by campus for a visit.

Then she lost her brother William. At the time he was the last family member to whom she felt any sort of connection, so losing him nearly broke her completely. As much as she loved Vanessa, Kory and the other friends that she had made at Stanford, Toni had known that none of them would be able to help fill the hole in her heart at that time and she didn't want them to become the focus of her inevitable wrath that she knew would be the result of her frustration at the injustice she felt at losing her family, so she left school. She had dropped out and drove to Maryland in the misguided hope that she and her dad would finally be able to find some measure of comfort with each other now that they were the last survivors of the McNamara clan.

Of course that hadn't gone anywhere in the realm of being close to Toni's plans in the end. As soon as her dad read the official report and then the investigation notes about William's 'accident' that he had gotten his hands on through his connections, everything fell apart fast. Everything fell apart worse than anything Toni could have dared to imagine. Her dad shut down completely and just drank from the nearest bottle of vodka whenever he was awake. For the longest time Toni wasn't sure where the seemingly unending supply of vodka bottles had come from because she had become the self-appointed head of the house when she realized that her father had stopped cooking, cleaning or shopping for groceries and she definitely wasn't the one buying him his alcohol.

After a couple of weeks Toni hadn't been able to get her father to eat anything she made, no matter how basic the meal or how small the portion and soon after that their only interactions had become screaming matches about his drinking. The only time that she saw him outside of his room was when he was trying to find a new bottle in the freezer and their 'conversation' would soon digress into her screaming at him about how he loved his vodka bottles more than anything else on the planet, including his only living offspring and then everything somehow managed to get even worse from there.

Toni had all but forgotten about trying to take care of herself and her father until one day she realized that she had been wearing the same outfit for three days straight and that she had no other clean clothes for her to wear. That day she forced herself to sober up enough to feel disgusted about that fact and she decided to throw on a random sweat suit Alex had left at the house after she had taken a long hot bath before she gathered up her laundry to do more than one overdue load. As she collected her clothes together she caught a glimpse of her father's closed door and despite her better judgment she started to feel guilty for not taking care of the man that had given her life. They may have been at odds but she could understand and even sympathize with how his grief was affecting him. He too had lost everyone that he loved, including his two sons who had been on track to follow in their father's footsteps, so she could forgive some of the anger he had directed at her.

While she was gathering up a few discarded garments off her father's bedroom floor Toni had caught a glimpse of the manila folders that had been couriered to him by 'a friend' (as he said whenever she pushed to find out who had brought this disastrous news into his house). She had been trying to get her hands on them since their contents had caused her father to become so much more dependent on the bottle, but he had made sure to keep them out of her reach. Now he was passed out on the bed (completely oblivious to what was happening in the house) so Toni seized the opportunity to slip the folders on the top of her mound of laundry in the basket before she snuck out of her father's bedroom to get started on the house work.

While the first load churned in the washing machine, Toni read over all of the investigational details that she hadn't been allowed to read and she suddenly knew that her life would never be the same again. She now understood that her dad had been driven over the edge by the words on these pages, but their false accusations didn't do the same for her, or at least they didn't drive her to a destructive obsession like they had the Colonel. When Toni was done reading the files for the third time Toni actually gained a new sense of purpose that she fell into wholeheartedly and with a renewed zeal that she had never felt before Toni began her life as a hunter by delving into research mode to find out everything that was missing from the official report.

She was then able to sober up completely to do her research which eventually led to her being able to uncover some strange happenings that had occurred at the Naval Base even before she made the trip to the Pacific Northwest. Since she was spending nearly every waking hour at the library meticulously going through their periodicals, her father was being left alone more often than not at the townhouse. Toni hadn't really notice this or paid that fact much mind until she returned to her father's place to find an ambulance idling outside his front walkway, blocking her usual parking spot. When she got inside she found one of her father's friends in the den with a paper bag sitting on the floor by his feet with four bottles of vodka in it. Toni immediately saw red at finding out how her father was being supplied with the substance that had effectively killed any hopes of her having any kind of relationship with her dad, but she quickly stowed those feelings away to deal with the latest tragedy to plague her life: her father being semi-conscious on a stretcher.

At the hospital's recommendation Toni hired a home care nurse to live with her father full-time after he was released from their care. That didn't seem to be of any type of deterrence to his drinking at all, but Toni did finally feel less guilt about having to leave him for extended period of time. After she was sure that he was settled in with the nurse, Toni had pretty much moved out of the townhouse and had given up her room for the home-worker to sleep in full-time. On the infrequent periods of time that she did visit her father, Toni usually just slept on the couch or she took one of Paulie's patrons upon their offers to 'show her a good time' and just didn't return to the townhouse at all between her shifts at the pub. She now admitted that that had actually been an avoidance tactic on her part, but at the time it was the only thing that she could think of to do to keep from going completely insane. She had hoped that when she solved the mystery behind William's death that everything would magically turn around with their relationship and that things would somehow just work between them, but when it didn't Toni was more than happy to focus all of her attention on the new calling in her life.

That calling, hunting as Sam called it, of course had been what had eventually led her to where she was now. She was now caring for two grieving brothers, one of whom found a particular fondness for distilled beverages. Toni's first instinct was to run back to Madison to be with her father while she cried out the pain that Bobby's death had caused, but she couldn't allow herself to give into that cowardice. Of course that didn't mean that she couldn't seek guidance from her father which in turn meant that she found herself calling him practically every time that she had a moment to herself.

"We actually went back to the salvage yard to bury him," Toni explained in a quiet, meek tone.

"Buried…?"

"After they built a pyre that is," Toni cut-in quickly when she realized that she hadn't made that fact clear. "Just like in the books, a proper hunter's funeral to the letter."

The Colonel let out an audible sigh before repentantly saying, "Of course you did. I wouldn't have expected any less from you three… So…" He paused for a couple of breaths before continuing, "How are you all holding up?"

It was Toni's turn to sigh as she pinched the bridge of her nose before replying, "The cabin is feeling very… Umm… Quiet. I think that if Sam wasn't worrying so much about Dean that he would be willing to talk with me, but since Dean isn't exactly in the caring and sharing mood…"

When Toni trailed off her dad gave her a few minutes to collect her thoughts in the hopes that she would finish her statement, but she remained silent. "Oh Angel I'm so sorry to hear that. Dean certainly can be a stubborn one, but give him time. I'm sure that he'll come around eventually."

"I know Dad, I know… But it's been weeks and I don't even know if I'm helping or hurting them by still being here. I mean maybe if I wasn't here Dean would talk to Sam."

"Toni… Angel don't… Please don't start doubting yourself now. I'm sure… No scratch that. I know that you being there is a huge help, especially for Sam. Plus… Well I assume that you've taken up the domestic responsibilities, right?"

Toni let out a quick bark of a laugh as she twisted to look at the paper bags of groceries on the back bench of her truck before she replied, "That's part of the reason why I feel so bad for them… On top of everything else going on in their lives, the boys are also being subjected to my cooking. That fact alone makes me feel sorry for them."

"Antonia," her father chided her with equal parts humor and genuine exasperation. "We both know that your culinary skills have greatly improved over the last couple of years. And we both know that by you taking on that responsibility that it's allowed Sam to focus his energies on Dean which is the best thing you can do for him."

Even though her father couldn't see her, Toni still ducked her head to hide the fact that she was blushing. "Yeah that's all true… But I still just wish that there was something more that I could do, you know?"

"Oh Sweetheart you're doing a lot, so don't get down on yourself okay…? Okay?" After Toni mumbled a noise of agreement her father added, "I know that when we lost your mother and brothers I didn't really make myself available to you to come to for comfort, but you still seemed to have found a fairly healthy way to grieve, so what was it that you needed from your brothers back then to get through everything?"

Toni slumped down in the driver's seat to hide from the non-existent crowd in the empty parking lot by the grocery store as she replied, "I mostly… Umm… I sort of just cried a lot and didn't really feel like doing anything but… Uhh… Alex and then Will, they… Umm… They made sure that I had food and that I kept hydrated and all that kind of stuff even when they weren't with me… Umm… They even recruited Vanessa for when they couldn't be with me… Alex… He… Uhh… He would even call just to chat about school and just regular life stuff even though I know he HATED talking on the phone… And… He kept reminding me that him, Will and Vanessa had my back and that all I had to do was call and they would be there for me."

Somehow Toni had managed to keep her voice steady and calm through her tears, but her father didn't make any attempts to hide his sniffle before he said, "And you just being available to Sam is all you need to do right now Angel. No one could force the process for you and you can't do anything to fast track it for them either. All you have to do is just be there for Sam and Dean right now Sweetheart. And don't try to put so much pressure on yourself, alright?"

"Alright… Alright," Toni replied through her continuing tears. "I know you're right and I'll try to keep from putting too much pressure on myself… Okay… Well… On that note, I should probably being heading back in there…"

"Oh! Of course you should," he replied sounding somewhat relieved. "But Angel…? One more thing?"

"Yeah Dad?" Toni asked apprehensively because she really needed to compose herself before making the trip back to the hunting cabin so that Sam wouldn't see that she had been crying.

"Don't forget that I love you and you can call me anytime that you need to talk… Day or night, I don't care about the hour of day."

"I won't forget… And I love you too Dad. Thanks for… Thanks… I'll talk to you later."

"Hey did you want me to give you a hand with all of that Toni?" Sam's hushed voice broke Toni of her reverie so suddenly that she nearly dropped the full bag that she was currently holding. Sam quickly caught her hands to help her steady the grocery bag again as he quietly apologized, "Sorry… Sorry. I didn't mean to startle you like that."

Toni gave him a small smile as she shook her head replying, "No it's alright. I didn't realize that I had zoned out so much… I guess it's a good thing that I waited until I had my truck parked to start daydreaming, hug?" Sam groaned with a good-natured eye roll but he didn't hesitate to bend over when Toni went up on her tip toes to give her a quick peck on her lips. "And yes I would really appreciate an extra set of hands carrying everything in. You are the best Boyfriend."

"Well then I guess that means that you can consider me your pack mule," Sam said with a smile on his face that didn't quite reach his eyes.

Toni made sure to only throw Sam a concerned look when he had his back turned to her because she knew that he was trying to keep up a brave front right now. If she and Sam had of been alone at the cabin, she would have tried a few different and creative techniques to get Sam to break down into tears or something similar to show his remorse at losing Bobby, but she knew that so long as the eldest Winchester was present that she had to let Sam remain stoic and strong. Once Dean finally broke down Sam would then be willing to show his own vulnerability, so Toni tried her best to remain patient and supportive.

Sam passed Toni another bag to carry in and then gave her another tight smile as he closed the door. They walked side by side slowly and Toni kept her eyes steadfastly fixed on the pathway while she asked just barely over a whisper, "So how's Dean doing?"

"Oh… You know…" Sam replied with a shrug. "His Dick Roman wall has gotten a lot bigger." Toni gave him a disapproving look at that comment to which Sam sighed then somewhat dejectedly added, "I think he finally ate some of the hash browns you made this morning. Other than that nothing else has really changed."

Before Sam could open the door, Toni awkwardly grabbed his hand to ensure that she had his full attention when she said, "Well that's a start, right? I… Uhh… I bought everything that I'll need to make up some bacon cheese burgers… Umm… If I made that for dinner tonight do you…? Do you think he'll have enough of an appetite to eat one?"

Sam leaned down to claim Toni's lips in a quick soft embrace before he replied, "In my experience Dean hasn't met a burger yet that he didn't want to devour. Thanks Toni."

Toni once again felt her cheeks flush brightly under a dark blush and she tried to duck her head to avoid Sam's eyes as she said, "And I found a Farmer's Market so I was able to get some amazing organic greens to make up a pretty good salad too."

Sam gave Toni a bright smile and this time Toni actually saw the corners of his eyes crinkle and she felt the tightness in her chest ease a bit. "That's awesome. Thanks Girlfriend."

When they entered the cabin Toni heard Sam let out a soft, dejected sigh at seeing Dean in the exact same spot that he had been in since he had gotten up that morning. Toni was tempted to do the same, but then her father's words of wisdom from their conversation earlier in the day echoed in her mind so she instead gave Sam a strong smile while they worked at unloading the groceries. While Sam moved around the small kitchen, Toni caught him throwing a few worried glances at his brother's back and she couldn't help notice the toll that his stress was having on him physically. The prominent bags under his eyes told her that he was getting even less sleep than she was or that she thought he was getting at night.

Dean was sitting at a desk in front of a wall covered in maps and articles about Richard Roman Enterprises, as well as the company's owner. The only movement that Toni noticed from that side of the room was Dean moving his right hand to sip from his tumbler of whiskey. Even though the bottle sitting in front of him was still practically full, Toni still removed the new bottle she had just bought and carried it over to him along with a couple of new periodicals.

"I put a Post-It on the page with a blurb on Dick in the Newsweek there for you so it'll be easier to find," Toni explained as she carefully piled the magazines on top of two newspapers on an empty corner of the desk.

Dean looked up from his yellow note pad to look at the materials Toni had referenced before saying a very quiet, "Thanks."

Toni gave him a quick, understanding smile and could help but steal a glance over his shoulder to sneak a peek at the notes that Dean had jotted down. At the top of the page she saw that he had written in large, bold writing "45489". Sam had already told her that Bobby had scrawled those digits on his palm on his death bed so she knew the significance that they held for the brothers beyond the obvious fact that they were a clue to hopefully stopping Dick Roman and the Leviathans. Underneath of that she noticed that Dean had started a list of potential explanations consisting of: ZIP CODE, LOCK, V-MAIL, and PASS… Toni figured that the last item on the list was just a partial word because Dean was finishing his thought on paper as she made her way back towards Sam.

Once all of the groceries were put away, Sam and Toni stood beside the kitchen counter to watch Dean in an almost uncomfortable silence. The elder Winchester exchanged his note pad for the magazine that Toni had made sure to place on the top of the pile of reading materials. Without even reading the contents of the article, Dean started cutting it out and affixed it to the wall in front of him. He then remained standing to read the item he had pinned to the board and then he underlined a few lines in the article. Sam looked like he was going to call out to his brother a couple of times, but he just closed his mouth and shook his head after each of his attempts to speak and looked even more withdrawn.

After Sam had turned away from his brother, Toni took his left hand in her right and gave his arm a gentle, yet insistent, tug. Once she had his attention Toni motioned with her head towards the bedroom. Sam nodded in silent understanding and then he allowed himself to be led into the other room by the petite brunette.

Toni motioned for Sam to take a seat on the bed while she made sure that the door was closed securely as quietly as possible. Sam settled quickly on the mattress while he watched Toni move slowly towards him. She moved in between his legs and remained standing as she shared yet another sad smile with Sam as she started to run her fingers through his hair.

Sam closed his eyes and he allowed himself to finally relax almost completely under her touch and Toni had to struggle to keep her voice even as she asked, "Did you get any sleep last night?" Sam shook his head slowly, but kept his eyes closed causing Toni to sigh loudly. "Sam you can't keep doing this to your body. I know that Dean's been working almost non-stop on those numbers, but you really need to take care of yourself."

"I know," he replied as he wrapped his arms around her waist so that he could rest the side of his head on her stomach. "But every time I close my eyes…"

When Sam trailed off, Toni wrapped her arms around his head in a gentle hug. "I know Sam, I know… But could you maybe try…? For me?" Sam pushed out of her embrace, but Toni was quick to silence his inevitable protest with a kiss. "Dean's going to be tied up for a while with the new reading materials I just brought him, so I think you'll be safe and have some time to try to squeeze in a nap." Sam looked like he was still going to try to argue with her, so Toni let all of her emotions show in her eyes and tone as she tried once again to persuade him pleading, "Please Sam? Please…? At least just try…"

With another heavy sigh Sam nodded then finally conceded, "Okay, I'll try… But on one condition."

"Anything," Toni agreed without hesitation.

Sam slipped his hands into the back pockets of Toni's jeans and pulled her even closer to him as he nearly whispered, "Join me?"

All of the tension that Toni had felt building in her muscles melted away and she couldn't have hidden her relief even if she had put some effort into it when she answered, "Of course."

Toni leaned down to claim Sam's lips and then she let Sam practically manhandle her so that she was sitting in his lap. She remained somewhat limp in his arms but completely focused on matching Sam's intensity as they kissed while Sam eased them all the way back until he was laying down on the bed with Toni draped over his body. They stayed like that for a few minutes then Sam somehow moved them so that he had his head on his pillow without breaking their embraces.

Eventually they both found it hard to breathe so they both pulled back away from the other's lips in order to try to catch their breath. When they noticed that their ability to be completely in synch with practically no effort or conscious thought hadn't changed, Sam and Toni issued a soft chuckle, once again completely in synch in level of volume and length of their laughter. They then shifted onto their sides so that they could stare at each other more comfortably. Once they were settled, Sam started to almost pet the length of Toni's arm and she couldn't help her face from falling into a sad, concerned frown.

Sam moved his hand up to the exposed side of Toni's face and whispered as he trailed his fingers over her cheekbone. "You aren't looking so hot there McNamara." Toni let out an almost startled laugh as she simultaneously slapped Sam's side with a weak hit. "If I didn't know any better," Sam continued as if Toni hadn't responded at all. "I would be led to believe that you've been worrying about someone that you're pretty fond of."

Toni let him slip his hand to the back of her head and maintained disturbingly direct eye contact with him with she tried to come up with a witty retort. Normally she wouldn't have had to put in much effort to be the victor of any verbal sparring, but in this moment of time her only response was to let a couple of tears slip out of her eyes. Sam kept his eyes locked on hers, but he did move his hand to brush away Toni's tears as they started to accumulate on her chin.

"No," she finally whispered around the huge lump in her throat causing Sam's eyes flew wide open. Toni leaned in close enough to Sam's face that their noses were just barely touching as she finished. "I'm worried about someone with whom I'm madly in love."

Sam's eyes clouded over in deeper sadness before he closed them and issued a forlorn sounding, "Toni…"

"I know, I know," she jumped in rubbing her cheek against Sam's. "I'm using proper grammar and everything." Sam startled out a huff of a laugh as Toni kissed his temple before she settled back on her side of the bed. "But seriously, I think we all look like shit because we haven't been sleeping enough. So are you ready to try to catch a little shut eye?"

Sam nodded then brushed a soft kiss on Toni's lips replying, "I think you can talk me into putting in more than a little effort on this subject."

Toni pressed her mouth against his one last time before she shimmied down the length of Sam's body to place her head on his chest to use it as a pillow. Sam shifted his right arm slightly so that they were both more comfortable while Toni's mind ran though the different sentiments that she could say next. "Sweet dreams" and "Good night" were the first salutations that popped into her head, but they seemed to 'cutesy' and clichéd for what Toni wanted to convey to her boyfriend in this moment.

"Get some sleep," slipped past her lips instead of any empty sentiments in a gentle, sincerely loving tone.

Sam answered by further relaxing his body under Toni's hand that was tracing soft circles over his heart and left pectoral muscle. Since it seemed to be an integral part to helping Sam relax so Toni maintained the soft circular pattern that she had established on his chest even after she felt his breathing ease into a quiet, restful snore. Toni forced herself to remain still and to maintain her own even pace of breathing even after she was certain that Sam was actually sleeping just in case he wasn't sleeping as deeply as she hoped he could.

After what felt like an eternity Toni let her hand cease its motion and then it drifted down to Sam's waist with an unnatural ease. Toni gave Sam's torso an almost imperceptible squeeze before she allowed herself to further relax against his body. He was actually still sleeping so Toni felt absolutely no remorse at having to use guilt or her tears to force him into this state. Later he might be annoyed, later he might be unhappy, later he might be a lot of different things, but so long as 'more rested' was added to the list of possibilities along with everything else then Toni was beyond elated that her deceitful measures had worked.

Sam was still soundly asleep when Toni woke up, so she carefully extracted herself from his grasp in order to keep from disturbing his slumber. She tried her best to keep the noise that she would make to a minimum because she was still worried that she would wake Sam or that she would interrupt Dean's train of thought. To date the elder male had remained somewhat withdrawn while doing his research, but Toni knew that there was still the potential of him resorting to violent outbursts due to his frustration. She wouldn't have begrudged him that reaction because she would have responded the same way if she had been in his place. The lack of quality sleep would have been enough to push Toni over the edge, but with the added liquor intake and absence of appetite that Dean had going on, sudden burst of irrational anger seemed more than likely to occur because Toni would have succumb to it way before now were she in his shoes.

In the other room Toni was more than mildly surprised to find that Dean wasn't sitting at his usual perch behind the desk. She froze in her spot in the doorway to survey the room and felt a near panic overtake her at not being able to find Dean right away.

It took a couple of minutes for Toni to regain her faculties and to be able to think straight. She then took a deep breath and started to look around the room for clues for where he might have gone. First she went to the window by the front door and slumped a little in relief to see that the Impala was still resting in the same spot Dean had parked it when the trio first settles in at their new quarters.

Toni jumped slightly after she turned around to face the room again. The small gasp that slipped past her lips quickly turned into a low, embarrassed chuckle quickly because she couldn't believe that the sight of Dean's sleeping form could have startled her so much. He was sprawled out over the couch with his right hand hanging loosely over the edge of the cushion with his fingertips resting on the yellow note pad that laid ignored on the floor. Toni's eyes quickly moved to his left hand and was pleasantly surprised to see that Dean had actually put the lid back on his whiskey bottle before finally succumbing to its numbing effects.

There was no blanket close by to drape over Dean, but even if there had been one close by Toni most likely wouldn't have used it. This was the deepest Toni had seen Dean sleep since she had reconnected with the Winchesters in New Jersey and she didn't want to do anything to disturb him at all. She gave the whiskey bottle a handful of sidelong looks as she moved towards the notepad but finally convinced herself not to touch it either. Instead she knelt down to pick up Dean's notepad and carefully placed it on the coffee table beside him, but not without scrutinizing Dean's scribbles on the pad.

Toni remained behind the couch for a couple of awkward moments before she forced her feet to finally move. Over the past couple of weeks Toni had been the only one of the three to actually get more than a couple hours of sleep every other night because her mind and body just couldn't endure the mental and physical exhaustion like the Winchesters seemed to be able to do. While they remained awake and on task, Toni would literally pass out in her spot and then she would wake up later in the bed that she now shared with Sam. She was tempted to busy herself with cleaning up the cabin instead of watching the brothers sleep but she decided against doing that as well because she didn't want to risk making too much noise. This is probably what led Toni to find herself staring at the wall Dean had plastered with information about Dick Roman.

Toni's eyes almost immediately focused on the maps that could still be seen between the articles on the wall. She knew that "ZIP CODE" was the first item on Dean's list because she had insisted that that was the most logical explanation for the five digit sequence Bobby had passed on to the Winchesters with his last dying breath. She now knew that she was wrong and readily admitted it, but she still wasn't sure if Dean had forgiven her for 'wasting' their time. (As she put it… Neither Winchester used such a vulgar term because they had been will to pursue any lead available, no matter how crazy or benign it may be, but Toni still felt guilty that she had focused so single mindedly on that one idea.)

"You need to stop beating yourself up about that."

The only thing that kept Toni from screaming or falling over was that Sam had wrapped his arms around her torso, clamped a large hand over her mouth and hugged her tightly to his chest while he whispered in her ear. Toni unconsciously went completely rigid at feeling her body be physically restricted but the warmth of Sam's body along with the sinfully sweet timber of his voice helped her to relax almost instantly. Sam was quick to notice that Toni wasn't going to issue a sound that could potentially wake his brother, so he let his hand fall away from her mouth but he still kept her caged in the strength of his arms. Once Sam seemed content to just hold her against his chest, Toni allowed herself to relish in his strength and let him be her pillar of strength while she relaxed even more against him.

Toni opened her mouth to speak but stopped herself and instead extracted herself from Sam's arms. He was quick to show her his concern, but Toni just threw a quick look at his brother who was thankfully in a deep sleep. Sam stared at Dean for a moment, lost in his own thoughts and then he nodded almost sadly before letting his girlfriend lead him out the front door.

Sam started to feel slightly unnerved by Toni's continued silence but he did very little to show it as she pulled him down the front stairs. When they reached the bottom Toni turned and frowned up at him. Sam's earlier trepidation turned into a near panic but then Toni flashed him a quick, wicked grin that kept Sam silent.

Toni nearly ran up a couple of steps then she turned Sam by the shoulders to face her. She was still a few inches shy of matching his height, but being able to pull his face forward for an enthusiastic kiss still made Toni smile brightly. For the most part Sam remained completely pliable for her and moved wherever Toni needed him to be for purposes known only to her.

After another quick kiss Toni gave Sam a much easier smile before she said, "And I have… I swear I have Sam, but I still think that those numbers will lead us to a place and not a person or thing."

"Okay…" Sam replied as he regarded Toni cautiously. "But even if that's true, Dean's looked into pretty much everything that those numbers could be and none of them lead to anything remotely connected to Dick and the Leviathans."

"Yet."

Sam pulled even further away from his girlfriend's hold to give Toni a look of confusion as he asked "Yet?"

The corners of Toni's lips curled back to grin at him predatorily as she pulled her shirt up and over her head to drop it at the bottom of the stairs by Sam's feet. He almost moved to pick up Toni's discarded garment, but he stopped to watch her make her way to the back door of the Impala. There Toni paused to turn back to him while standing in just her bra and panties. Before opening the backdoor Toni shivered and neither of them knew for sure whether it was because of the cool night air or if it was because of Toni's expectations for what she wanted Sam to make her feel in the backseat of this iconic car.

They shared a look as Toni shimmied out of her panties with one hand still on the door handle, but Sam didn't move until she had the door open and was moving to get inside of the Impala. It took Sam longer than he would have like it to in order to join Toni beside his brother's beloved car.

After tripping more than once, Sam finally stood beside the now open door of the Impala in just his boxers. The sight that met him froze Sam completely in his place. Toni had sprawled out over the back seat with such an ease that she looked like she had laid herself out over a plush king sized bed instead of a fairly cramped automobile. Sam's eyes were so focused on Toni's blissed out facial expression that it took Sam more than a little effort to pull his eyes away from her face to discover the origin of her blissed out stated. Toni's right hand had drifted to the area between her legs and Sam didn't need any light sources to know what she was doing to keep herself contently occupied while she waited for him to join her.

Sam cleared his throat loudly causing Toni's eyes to fly wide open. When she gaped slightly with her eyes trained fixedly on his own, Sam knew that her fingers hadn't ceased their motion and he also knew that he had to do something to help to change her focus.

Sam didn't shed the last piece of his clothing until he found himself kneeling by Toni's feet with the door firmly closed behind him. Toni rewarded him with another sharp gasp and then a breathy explanation, "Sorry… Carver… Chuck… Whoever only ever wrote about Dean's exploits in the backseat of the… THE Impala… Since the first book I read…" She paused to grasp Sam's sex in the hand covered with her own arousal. "I've been imagining what 'Sam' would look like while taking a girl… Especially in the backseat of Dean's Impala behind his brother's back."

Sam's only pause came at hearing his brother's name, but he didn't hesitate to take what Toni was offering him right now. He knew she didn't need him to stop and kiss her to make this coupling 'sweet'. In these confines with their height differences they wouldn't be able to maintain such intimate contact, so Sam kissed Toni softly then he shared a look with her before moving back into position. Toni almost worried that Sam wasn't ready to take her like Dean had so many other women on the leather of this bench but then Sam's smile suddenly morphed into a knowing smirk that made her heart skip a beat in anticipation.

"Sam?" She breathed out not just as a question, but also as a desperate plea.

He smiled down at her then shifted their bodies so that he could enter his girlfriend in one long, easy thrust. Toni gasped once again and almost felt slightly afraid about Sam's forcefulness without her prodding, but then she realized that he was giving her what she truly wanted without her having to demand it out loud like she had in the past so she just responded by thrusting her hips up off the bench to meet Sam's.

"So good Sam," she praised as he continued thrusting his weight back and forth.

Sam's pattern only stuttered when he felt that he was close to his own completion which caused him to pull back and check Toni's face. Even though Sam wasn't used to this quick pace with any other woman that he had had under him, Toni still remained more than okay with it and hoped that her annoyance at his slowing down to a near stop showed on her face in the almost non-existent light.

Mere moments after Sam restarted thrusting in and out of her awaiting body Toni was screaming out her boyfriend's name along with her completion.

Toni had nearly caught her breath before Sam started moving his hips back and forth once again with purposed so that he could cause her to orgasm once again as he felt himself tumble over the edge into pure bliss.

"So…? Was sex in the Impala all that you dreamed it would be?" Sam questioned quietly into Toni's ear as he tried to rearrange their bodies into a more comfortable position.

Somehow Sam ended up seated on the bench seat while Toni's small frame became engulfed in his embrace. Once she was settled on his lap Toni hugged Sam's torso answering, "It was better than any dream my brain could have ever tried to come up with."

Toni forced herself not to look Sam in the eye when she felt him flex his pectoral muscles so that she could clarify, "I mean I know this is the… THE IMPALA… Dean practically lost his virginity here… Ever girl that read the series wanted to be the girl that Dean was with back here and to know what it was like, but… Well to be with a Winchester that you love in the back seat… Well how many girls actually get THAT honor?" Sam gave Toni an odd look so she quickly repented while shoving softly at his chest to sit up of her own accord, "I didn't… Sam we didn't just have sex back here because it was some kind of fan girl conquest or anything…"

Sam easily forced his girlfriend to remain in his lap as he answered, "I know Toni, but if I had of known that this (he gestured vaguely around the car with his left hand) was a fantasy of yours, I would have gratefully fulfilled it before now."

Toni gave Sam's torso a quick squeeze as she replied, "Sex in the Impala wasn't exactly a fantasy of mine…" After she leaned back to look Sam in the eye she added, "But sex with Sam… Well with Sam Winchester is always amazing and adding the hotness of the Impala… Well then the sex is beyond fucking unbelievable and… Well… That's something that I can only tell you, so please…? Don't hold it against me?"

"Never," Sam answered with a chuckle and a kiss against Toni's temple.

It didn't take long before Sam and Toni felt the full effects of being outdoors in the Impala without proper covering. When Toni shivered unconsciously Sam remained silent and just pressed her closer to his chest in the hopes that he could keep her warm with his own body heat. Toni didn't object to this idea at all and just relaxed further against Sam's left side with her legs stretched out beyond Sam's right hip.

After a long comfortable silence their breathing fell into synch and Toni finally felt comfortable sharing her latest theory with her boyfriend.

Toni gave Sam's body another quick squeeze as she said against his chest, "Good… I'm glad you won't because I wanted to leave you with a… Uhh… Good memory of me because I think I have another lead that could work."

"Oh yeah? And what would this new lead be Girlfriend?"

Retired Corporal Samson Gaul looked up from his latest project to smile at Retired Colonel Tom McNamara saying, "This daughter of yours sure does know how to keep an old man's mind preoccupied. So what other puzzle does she have ready of us once I've solved this one?"

The Colonel gave the Corporal a sly smile replying, "Well Old Man if I told you that wouldn't it ruin some of the fun?"

The younger retiree laughed then added, "Maybe, but why don't you come over here to add your two cents before we give up on Toni's latest riddle?"

Toni smiled at the two retirees that looked so comfortable with the other men around the table that could have at one point been regarded as their county's most prized think tank for any military maneuvering as she asked with a light hearted chuckle, "And how about I get you all a refill on your coffees to help keep you going?"

A/N: I'm SO sorry it took me so long to update! I swear I meant to do this sooner especially since I finally figured out the rest of Toni's story, but unfortunately life has been getting in the way. New Puppy, back to full time work after fighting to get back after nearly being killed and yeah other not so happy shit that makes me wish I could just crawl into a hole and forget the real world, but here it is... Hope you enjoy!