It was early afternoon by the time they awoke. They each took five-minute showers, dressed, and brushed their teeth before heading out to the nearest diner for food. By this point in the day, they were both famished, and even Sam made it halfway through his sandwich before opening his laptop to look for a job.
"No ghosts, demons, shifters, or evil sons of bitches of any kind until I finish my burger," Dean announced through a mouthful of beef as soon as Sam turned the computer on. Sam made a show of rolling his eyes, but kept quiet. Dean was always grateful when Sam kept quiet. Food was one of the few things in his life he could really enjoy, a pure physical pleasure untainted by grief, fear, or any kind of moral dilemma. He savored the crunch of the onions and the flavor of the meat as though it was the first burger he had ever tasted. After all, when you're acutely aware that any meal could be your last, you may as well make it an event.
Finally, the last bit of burger disappeared into Dean's mouth and he washed it down with a swig of beer. "Alright, what've you got?" he asked.
"So, get this," Sam replied, "Small town about an hour south of Nashville, happily married man just suddenly shoots his whole family. Two days later, the local pastor hangs himself, and the day after that a kindergarten teacher starts a fire and nearly burns down the school."
Dean raised his eyebrows. "You thinking demons?"
"I'm thinking demons," Sam answered.
"Well, alright then," Dean said, flagging down the waitress for the check.
"Dean," Sam said when the waitress had disappeared with Jason Higgins's credit card, "what about… you know… you said tonight, and we might run into a demon before then."
"We've got a couple of hours of driving ahead of us," Dean shrugged. "I'll take care of it on the way."
Sam frowned slightly. "You're sure that'll be enough?"
Dean paused to smile at the waitress while she returned his card. As they made their way out to the Impala, he said, "Seriously, Sam, this whole thing was your idea. Yes, it'll work. Though worst case scenario, if it doesn't, you'll just have to keep exercising restraint. You've managed fine so far, except for the incident with Famine which I maintain is not your fault."
"Yeah, but Dean," Sam argued as he got into the car, "it still shows that restraint isn't always enough. What if I'm not strong enough?"
Dean rolled his eyes and snapped, "Hellboy!"
For the second time that day, Sam's body collapsed, this time slumping into his seat in the passenger side of the Impala.
"Much better," Dean told him, taking a breath to steady himself. "It's so easy to just let yourself relax, to stop worrying about things, to just listen and relax…" He again spent several minutes deepening the trance. Reminding Sam how easy it was to relax, how easy it was to let go. Encouraging him to breathe deeply and let himself drift deeper.
By the time they reached the interstate, he was satisfied with the depth of the trance.
"Now, Sam," he said slowly, "We talked this morning about how you don't really need demon blood. You remember that now, don't you?"
"Mhmm," Sam answered.
"Very good. What do you need?"
"I need you."
God, that was still so hot. Alright, Dean, focus.
"Tell me you don't need demon blood."
"I don't need demon blood."
"That's right. What do you need?"
"I need you."
This routine continued for the next thirty miles, only interrupted by the occasional "Take a deep breath to relax deeper." Another thirty miles of "I don't need demon blood" and "I need you." That oughta stick, Dean figured. So he moved on to calming Sam's nerves.
"Very good, Sammy," he said. "You won't be tempted by demon blood, because you know you don't need it. Isn't that right?"
"Mmm," Sam answered from the passenger seat.
"Excellent. Now, Sam, when I bring you out of trance you'll be feeling much better about this problem. You might still be a bit nervous, and ready to resist the urge to drink demon blood if necessary, but you trust me, and you'll know I've done something to help. Isn't that right?"
"Mmm."
"Great. So when I bring you out of trance, you'll know I've done something to help, and that will make you feel a bit better, won't it?"
"Mmm."
"Wonderful. Now I'm going to bring you out of trance. I'm going to count down from six, and when I finish, you'll be fully awake, feeling alert and refreshed and less nervous about your demon blood addiction. Do you understand?"
"Mmhmm."
"Wonderful.
"Six. You can feel yourself beginning to wake up.
"Five. You can feel the strength returning to your muscles.
"Four. You're becoming more aware of the world around you.
"Three. Drifting back up out of trance.
"Two. Almost there.
"One. Fully awake, feeling alert and refreshed.
"How are you feeling, Sammy?"
"Good," Sam answered. "Still pretty relaxed from the trance, and better about this hunt. How far have we gone?"
"About forty-five miles. We've still got another hour to go, get some rest."
Sam did as he was told. Dean was amazed.