A/n: Thank you everyone who reads, reviews, follows, and/or favorites this story. A special thank you to hectatess, mckydstarlight, LilyBolt, Guest, MarbleWolf, and SparksFlyAngel for all your reviews.

Chapter 21

Later that day, the boys stuck to Sam's plan. They checked out, pulled out some money from the bank, filled up the car, built up a snack supply, and once it grew dark, they were on the road. Dean sat in the driver's seat, his eyes constantly checking behind him for flashing red and blue lights, while Sam sat in the passenger seat with driving directions on his lap and a flashlight they had picked up along the way in his hand. Other than the younger brother telling the elder where to go and for how many miles and the faint sound of Dean's classic rock playing in the background, it was silent. Both Winchesters were focused on their tasks at hand. They had been driving a good seven hours already and with it being one in the morning, there were very few cars on the road. Between the lack of traffic and the speed his brother was driving at, Sam was feeling optimistic about the time of their arrival to South Dakota. Or was.

"Dean, what're you doing?" The younger man inquired with a frown as the driver pulled the muscle car off to the side of the road. "We have another," he looked down at his instructions, "thirty-four miles on this road."

"I'm not a machine Sammy, I'm pooped. I've been driving for about seven hours and I've been up almost twenty four. I need to recharge."

Sam looked around at the vast empty and dark space around them. They had taken the back roads, hoping to keep themselves hidden or at least less likely of being caught. The twenty-two year old figured their leaving would probably go unnoticed. He doubted they had as watchful of an eye on him and his brother as Dean thought they did.

"You're not going to at least check into a motel?"

"You see one around anywhere?" The elder sibling retorted. "Besides, aren't there cameras all around motels?"

"So, what? You're just gonna hunker down and sleep? They can catch us just as easily here too you know?"

"Honestly Sam, I'm too tired to care."

"Then I'll drive," the younger Winchester offered.

"First off, hell no you aren't driving my Baby. Secondly, you need some rest too. I'm willing to bet you've been up longer 'n I have. In the back Jack." Dean hitched a thumb towards the back bench of the Impala.

"I'm not tired."

"Then you can lay there quietly, but there's no more driving tonight."

Sam rolled his eyes, popped open the passenger side, slid out, closed the door, then climbed into the back. Once his brother was in, Dean locked the doors and he shimmed his way into a comfortable spot, or as comfortable a spot as he could get. Being six foot one he wasn't left with much room for his feet, which meant he had to sleep on his back and with his legs bent while his head rested on the door of the Impala. It was hardly comfortable, but he hadn't been lying to his brother when he said he was tired. As Dean laid there with his eyes close and his arms crossed over his chest, he could hear Sam trying to adjust himself in the back of the Chevy, followed by an audible sigh which he knew had been meant for him to hear letting him know that his sibling was far from pleased with the situation.

"You losing air back there isn't going to change anything," he replied not opening his eyes.

"I don't fit back here, Dean," he commented. "I'm too big."

A grin slid across the elder sibling's face. "Bet that's the first time you ever said that," he teased his already agitated little brother.

"Real mature," Sam shot back.

"It's not my fault you're a size sasquatch. I'm not exactly petite myself, you're just going to have to get over it for a night," then under his breath he mumbled, "or two." Another sigh escaped the younger man's mouth as he wiggled around some more trying once again to find a way to lay that would be tolerable and less likely to give him a kink in his neck. There was simply no hope for his long legs, they were just going to have to be cramped. Finally, Dean felt Sam settle in the back and he was able to get some sleep.

He wasn't sure how much time had gone by when he woke again, but by the way his head felt heavy, as did the rest of him, it couldn't have been much. He thought he'd been in a sound sleep, the kind that not even the slightest sound could pull you from, but it had been exactly that which woke him.

It was coming from the back and it only took a few seconds for Dean recognize it as Sam. There was a mumble and the sound of his brother moving on the leather seat, followed by a louder mumble. Dean pulled himself into sitting position and leaned over to peer down at his brother. Sam twitched and his lips were curled down in a frown. His eyes were squeezed shut and his brow was furrowed.

"No," he muttered. "NO! JESS!"

His eyes flew open and he stared up at the Impala's ceiling as he panted. Aware that a pair of green eyes were watching him, he decided to ignore them and tried to recollect himself.

"Talk to me Sammy," Dean pleaded in a gentle voice.

"It's Sam, and I have nothing to talk about," Sam responded coldly.

"That's the second time I've seen you and heard you wake up like that. What's going on?"

"Nothing."

"It's about Jessica, isn't it? About that night that you lost her. Are you just re-living that night over and over every time you dream?" Sam swallowed and continued to look up at the top of the car, tilting his head back a bit more to keep tears from running down his face. He remained silent. "This is what I mean." Dean continued, keeping his voice as confrontation free as possible. "Look what it's doing to you, it's making you miserable. You can't keep blaming yourself for what happened. It wasn't your fault. You've gotta let it go."

"No, you're right. It isn't my fault. It's yours."

"Excuse me?" Dean replied in surprise, twisting around in his seat more so that he was facing his brother. His eyes were met with a hazel glare.

"If you'd just stayed at home, none of this would have happened. I would have never left and Jess wouldn't be dead!"

"Well excuse me for wanting to check up on my little brother. For thinking maybe he'd be happy to see me since it's been, what? A good almost two years since we had last seen each other!" Dean shot back. "Clearly I was wrong. I got that memo after I found out you went and got married and decided to leave me out." He paused trying to keep himself under control. "Was I really so bad to you that I didn't even deserve an invitation to one of the biggest moments of your life? Do you really hate me that much?"

"I'm not having this talk with you. Just, let's go back to sleep, ok?" The twenty-two year old didn't wait for an answer. He turned himself so that he was facing away from his brother, his eyes still fighting back tears, until he was able to sink into sleep once more.

A/n: Hey everyone! I just wanted to thank you all again for your interest in this story. In the next couple of chapters, I promise things are going to start heating up.

Guest: Yep they are together again. Still a bit rocky as you can see, but that's to be expected. There's some bonding that's been going on, yes. Sam, at times, is coming around and Dean doesn't want to leave Sam on his own with something that can be dangerous. It's a few more chapters before they learn more, but a lot's about to happen to the boys. Thank you as always for your review! It's always awesome to hear from you.

SparksFlyAngel: Indeed. Mary would be extremely worried and also very upset if she knew/ found out what was going on with her boys. By the next chapter, the boys will be there, the following chapter, things get a bit hectic. I'm so glad you liked the chapter! Thank you for review and interest in the story!